Ms. L. v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement et al

Filing 46

RESPONSE in Opposition re #21 Amended MOTION for Preliminary Injunction filed by Greg Archambeault, Alex Azar, L. Francis Cissna, Pete Flores, Joseph Greene, Thomas Homan, Francis M. Jackson, Scott Lloyd, Adrian P. Macias, Hector A. Mancha Jr., Kevin K. McAleenan, Kirstjen Nielsen, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Attachments: #1 Declaration Ortiz, #2 Declaration Banzon, #3 Proof of Service)(Bettwy, Samuel) (aef).

Case 3:18-cv-00428-DMS-MDD Document 46-2 Filed 03/16/18 PageID.851 Page 1 of 5

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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S. L,

Case No. 18cv428 OMS MOD

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Petitioner-Plaintiff,

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.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS
NFORCEMENT, et al.,

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Hon. Dana M. Sabraw

vs.

Respondents-Defendants.
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DECLARATION OF FEDERAL FIELD SPECIALIST, CHICAGO, JULISSA
PORTALESBANZON,MS
OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT,
ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES,
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

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15 I, Julissa Portales Banzon, for my declaration pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, hereby state
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and depose as follows:
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I am a Federal Field Specialist (FFS) for the Office of Refugee Resettlement

19 ("ORR"), an Office within the Administration for Children and Families ("ACF"),
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Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS"). The following statements are based

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22 on my personal knowledge, information acquired by me in the course of performing my

23 official duties, information contained in the records of HHS, and information supplied to
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me by current HHS employees. I am located in Chicago, Illinois.

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2.

Generally, when UAC are apprehended by officers working for the

27 Department of Homeland Security (OHS), DHS refers them to ORR as UAC per
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applicable law.

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3.

In this case, S.S., a seven year old girl reportedly from the Congo, was

referred to ORR on November 5,2017 by OHS as an "unaccompanied alien child".

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4.

Once a referring agency such as OHS refers a child as a UAC, it is the

5 general policy of HHS/ORR not to revisit their "unaccompanied" status. Rather,
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HHS/ORR policy is to adhere to the requirements in the William Wilberforce Trafficking

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8 Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of2008 (TVPRA), 8 U.S.C. § 1232(c)(3), to
9 determine the suitability of a sponsor prior to release. See ,r Paragraph 11, infra,
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explaining the process whereby ORR reunifies a child with a sponsor, including verifying

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the identity of a sponsor who claims to be her parent, as well as confirming the

13 relationship between the child and the sponsor.
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5.

Also in accordance with the TVPRA, ORR follows child welfare best

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practices to place a "child in the least restrictive setting appropriate for the child," taking

17 into account factors such as the child's age and gender. 8 U.S.C. § 1232(c)(2)(A); ORR

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Guide to Children Entering the United States Unaccompanied (ORR Guide), at Section

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1.1 (Summary of Policies for Placement and Transfer of Unaccompanied Alien Children

21 in ORR Care Provider Facilities) (available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/

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resource/children-entering-the-united-states-unaccompanied, last visited March 6, 2018).

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ORR provides grants to numerous types of care providers, including foster care providers

25 and shelter-care group home type shelters in order to meet the needs ofUAC in ORR care

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and custody. See ORR Guide, at Section 1.2 (ORR Standards for Placement and Transfer

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28 Decisions).
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6.

S.S. is currently in the care and custody of ORR and has been housed since

November 5, 2017 by Heartland ICC, a non-secure shelter facility in Chicago Illinois.

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4 The shelter is licensed by the State of Illinois to provide residential care to children. The
5 facility is one which is capacitated to shelter young children such as S.S. and is routinely
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used for such children. The facility also provides care to many young children from

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8 diverse non-Central American countries such as the Congo, Guinea, Nepal, Haiti,
9 Kyrgyzstan, China, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, and Romania. At Heartland ICC, S.S.
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receives case management, clinical, educational and medical services while in care.

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7.

ORR has sought acceptable proof from DHS and Ms. L to verify that Ms. L

is S.S. 's biological mother as she alleges. Despite multiple attempts to gather appropriate
documentation such as a birth certificate or other government-issued identification, ORR

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has to date been unable to verify the alleged parental relationship. The only available

17 documentation of S.S.' s identity is a school identification card reportedly from Brazil
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(where the minor and Ms. L reportedly lived before traveling to the U.S.) which does list

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Ms. Las the child's mother. The shelter Heartland ICC has made attempts to contact the
minor's father and a reported family friend by calling the telephone numbers outside the

22 U .S. provided by Ms. L; however, these numbers did not work. Ms. L also requested that
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the shelter contact the Angola and Congo consulates in order to secure birth certificates
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25 for the minor and Ms. L, which Heartland ICC did, but neither consulate has responded
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yet to this request for assistance.

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8.

S.S. 's immigration attorney requested a DNA test in order establish definitely

whether Ms. Lis S.S.'s biological mother as she alleges. Therefore, ORR and the

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4 Heartland ICC shelter have taken affirmative steps in an effort to obtain the requisite
5 consent from Ms. L and DHS, and to arrange such testing, which was conducted for the
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minor on Wednesday, March 7 (today), at 10 a.m.

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9.

Although the minor S.S. 's putative mother, Ms. L, was just released from

9 OHS custody, ORR must still follow its usual release policy and procedures before
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releasing S.S. to her. Under the TVPRA, see 8 U.S.C. § 1232(c)(3)(A), HHS (ORR) is

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12 required to "make[] a determination that a proposed custodian is capable of providing for

13 the child's physical mental well-being. Such determination shall, at a minimum, include
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verification of the custodian's identity and relationship to the child, if any, as well as an

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independent finding that the individual has not engaged in any activity that would indicate

17 a potential risk to the child."
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10.

Correspondingly, ORR policy requires the timely release ofUAC to qualified

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parents, guardians, relatives, or other adults, referred to collectively as "sponsors." ORR

21 Guide, at Section 2.1 (Summary of Safe and Timely Release Process). Consistent with
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the TVPRA's mandate, see 8 U.S.C. § 1232(c)(3)(A), ORR evaluates the ability of any

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potential sponsor, including an individual who claims to be the child's parent, to provide

25 for the child's physical and mental well-being, in order to protect him or her from

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"smugglers, traffickers, or others who might seek to victimize or otherwise engage the

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28 child in criminal, harmful or exploitative activity." ORR Guide, at Section 2.1 .
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1 According to ORR policy: "The process for the safe and timely release of an

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unaccompanied alien child from ORR custody involves many steps, including: the

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4 identification of sponsors; the submission by a sponsor of the application for release and
5 supporting documentation; the evaluation of the suitability of the sponsor, including
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verification of the sponsor's identity and relationship to the child, background checks, and

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8 in some cases home studies; and planning for post-release." Id. (Emphasis added.) While
9 ORR' s preference is to release a child to an appropriate sponsor who is verified to be the
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child's parent (see ORR Guide, Section 2.2.1), each of these steps apply to all sponsors

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12 prior to release, including the putative parent of a child such as S.S.
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I, Julissa Portales Banzon, M.S., declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing
is true and correct. Executed on March 7, 2018.

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Julissa Portales Banzon, M.S., Federal Field
Specialist, Chicago

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