State of Washington et al v. United States of America et al
Filing
15
MOTION to Expedite Discovery and Regular Staus Conferences, filed by Plaintiff State of Washington. Oral Argument Requested. (Attachments: #1 Appendix A, #2 Appendix B, #3SEALED Exhibit 1-33, #4 SEALED Exhibit 34-66, #5 Exhibit 67-99, #6 Proposed Order) Noting Date 7/13/2018, (Clinton, Laura) Modified on 7/17/2018 to seal due to names of minors, per phone call from counsel (PM).
Exhibit 1
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE
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STATE OF WASHINGTON, et al.,
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Plaintiffs,
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v.
Defendants.
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I, Taylor Levy, declare as follows:
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2:18-cv-00939-MJP
DECLARATION OF TAYLOR
LEVY IN SUPPORT OF THE
STATE OF WASHINGTON
DONALD TRUMP in his official
capacity as President of the United States,
et al.,
16
19
NO.
1.
I am over the age of 18 and have personal knowledge of all the facts stated
2.
I am the Legal Coordinator for Annunciation House, a charitable nonprofit in
herein.
the El Paso-Juarez border community. I have worked and volunteered with Annunciation
House for almost nine years, and been in my current position since January 2017. I am a Fully
Accredited Representative, which is an alternative accreditation that allows me to represent
clients in immigration proceedings before the Executive Office of Immigration Review
(Immigration Court). I frequently represent clients in Immigration Court who are seeking relief
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
1
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
from removal through asylum, withholding of removal, cancellation of removal under the
2
provisions of the Violence Against Women Act, and other forms of immigration-related relief.
3
I have also recently graduated from law school.
4
3.
I have been working on immigration issues along our Southwestern border for
5
much of my career. For example, in the summer 2014, we began seeing a migration surge of
6
asylum seekers along our border communities. At that time, I first worked with Annunciation
7
House to coordinate an emergency humanitarian response to large groups of asylum-seeking
8
family units released on recognizance by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the
9
El Paso area. In August 2014, I changed roles to become part of the emergency pro bono
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immigration legal team through Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, providing
11
representation to asylum-seeking mothers detained with their children in Artesia, New Mexico.
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I spent approximately five months in this role, traveling from El Paso to Artesia three days per
13
week.
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4.
The El Paso and Ciudad Juarez metropolitan area where I work is the biggest
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border community in the world. The combined population of both cities is close to 3 million
16
people. El Paso and Ciudad Juarez are one of the main Southwestern border entry points into
17
the United States. Through my work, legal training, and physical proximity, I am familiar with
18
the conditions in our border community and interact daily with immigrants who have entered
19
the United States through the El Paso ports of entry.
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5.
Annunciation House is an independent organization rooting in Catholic social
21
teaching that accompanies the migrant, homeless, and economically vulnerable peoples of the
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border region through hospitality, advocacy, and education.
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Annunciation House has sought to serve the most vulnerable people in our community.
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Migrants and refugees, who often cannot receive services from most established social
25
agencies, have become the primary focus of our work over the years. Aside from our Executive
26
Director and me, Annunciation House operates with an all-volunteer staff.
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
2
From its beginnings,
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
6.
Annunciation House has been located in El Paso/Ciudad Juarez since 1978, and
2
it operates three houses of hospitality for migrants and refugees. Apart from our general
3
population of guests, we also typically receive and serve 10,000-15,000 immigrants a year as
4
they are released from ICE custody. Many of these people travel on to other points in the
5
United States within a day or so, to stay with family as their immigration cases proceed.
6
7.
Annunciation House is the entry point for most of our guests. It hosts guests
7
with short-to mid-term needs, who stay for weeks to months. These range from people who
8
have come to the US seeking work, to those who have fled violence and extortion in their home
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countries, to undocumented families living in El Paso who have come upon financial hardship.
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8.
Casa Vides is a longer-term house of hospitality primarily for guests with
11
ongoing needs, such as political asylum cases or other immigration proceedings, or medical
12
situations. Casa Vides also provides hospitality to a number of Mexican nationals, widows of
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U.S. citizens, who must spend a certain amount of time in the U.S. each year to collect the
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Social Security benefits to which they are entitled.
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9.
Additionally, since 2014, Annunciation House has overseen approximately one
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dozen different “overflow shelters” that serve our very short-term guests that have just been
17
released from ICE custody. The overflow shelters are primarily located in churches and
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community centers, and they operate on a rotating basis depending on current needs and
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volunteer availability. The guests in these overflow shelters typically stay just 1-3 days, long
20
enough to address their basic needs and connect with family or friends elsewhere in the U.S.
21
These overflow shelters have high turnover and unpredictable numbers, with the guest
22
population entirely dependent on ICE’s release schedule each week.
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10.
In the summer and fall of 2017, I began to see a significant increase in clients
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that had suffered family separation in the El Paso area, meaning that parents were arriving at
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the border with their children but being separated and detained by immigration officials for
26
long periods of time without reunification. Other advocates in our community reported similar
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
3
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
increasing separations during this time. This increase was later confirmed to be due to a shift
2
in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy.
3
11.
Specifically, Annunciation House is a member of the Borderland Immigration
4
Council, a coalition of immigration attorneys and advocates. On Oct. 24, 2017, the Borderland
5
Immigration Council met with government officials in El Paso about immigration. It is my
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understanding that representatives from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), ICE, and DHS
7
were present at that meeting and that they claimed that the new CBP policy was to separate
8
children over 10 from their parents when they were taken into custody.
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12.
During this time, I worked directly with two women (B. and J.), who had been
10
separated from their children soon after entering the country. Both women were being detained
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in the El Paso Service Processing Center after having been separated from their minor children
12
and charged criminally with illegal entry after having been apprehended in the El Paso area.
13
13.
I began visiting J. first in the late fall of 2017, after she made multiple calls and
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sent letters to Annunciation House requesting assistance. I met with her for several months in
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detention while attempting to place her case with alternate counsel due to a lack of capacity
16
within my own workload. I spoke about her case with various attorneys working with national
17
organizations as I sought counsel. I visited J in detention numerous times for several months,
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including on Christmas morning; she was always despondent. I spoke to her son’s case workers
19
and legal team in Chicago and kept them informed of my ongoing efforts to assist J.
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14.
In January 2018, I was finally successful in securing immigration legal
21
representation for J through a joint partnership between Linda Rivas of Las Americas
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Immigrant Advocacy Center and Innovation Law Lab. I then stopped working on the case. I
23
know that she ultimately became one of the named plaintiffs in a lawsuit in the Southern
24
District of California seeking reunification.
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15.
In April 2018, J was granted a bond from an Immigration Judge and began
living at Annunciation House. J has lived at Annunciation House since that time. It took more
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
4
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
than two months for J to be reunited with her son, who was being detained in Chicago, even
2
with the assistance of Annunciation House, Las Americas, and the ACLU.
3
16.
In approximately January 2018, I also began assisting with the case of B,
4
another woman who had been separated from her minor child in the fall of 2017 after being
5
criminally prosecuted for illegal entry following apprehension in the El Paso sector. I began
6
working on her case as an unpaid “on-the-ground” consultant for her immigration lawyers from
7
ALDEA-The People’s Justice Center, an organization headquartered out of Pennsylvania. I
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visited with B in detention and consulted with her attorneys. B was eventually granted an
9
immigration bond in March 2018 and came to stay at Annunciation House. She has since
10
11
reunited with her family outside of El Paso.
17.
Following B’s release from detention, on March 12, 2018, Annunciation House
12
held a press conference to decry the practice of family separation. The press conference
13
included the Annunciation House Director, Ruben Garcia; an Assistant Federal Public
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Defender, Sergio Garcia (B’s criminal attorney); Christina Garcia from Las Americas
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Immigrant Advocacy Center; private immigration attorney and member of the Borderland
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Immigration Council Eduardo Beckett; B; and myself.
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18.
Following the Press Conference, a journalist, Angela Kocherga, from the
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Albuquerque Journal reached out to DHS for comment. The following was published in that
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article: “DHS does not currently have a policy of separating women and children,” said Tyler
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Houlton, acting DHS press secretary in an emailed statement. “However, we retain the
21
authority to do so in certain circumstances – particularly to protect a child from potential
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smuggling and trafficking activities.” See https://www.abqjournal.com/1145759/advocates-
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decry-immigration-tactic.html. I also read other articles in the press reporting similar
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statements denying family separation from DHS spokespersons.
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19.
I am aware that on or about May 7, 2018, the press reported on an internal DHS
memo that confirmed that DHS had piloted a secret test of the family separation policy in the
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
5
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
El Paso area during July–November 2017. These news reports confirmed what I had observed:
2
that DHS was intentionally separating families as they entered at the El Paso border as a
3
deterrent to future immigrants. These news reports coincided with Attorney General Sessions’
4
formal announcement of the “Zero Tolerance” border prosecutions policy, which effectively
5
mandated
6
https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/homeland-security-promises-to-prosecute-100-percent-
7
of-illegal-immigration-cases/
8
20.
family
separation
along
the
entire
border.
See
After the announcement, I began to hear reports from other border areas that
9
CBP and ICE were systematically turning asylum seekers away from ports of entry in other
10
Southwestern border communities. I initially dismissed these reports as arising from a few
11
individual CBP officers who were acting unlawfully, as I did not see a similar pattern in our
12
El Paso community. While as early as the fall of 2016, I had heard some anecdotal reports of
13
“metering”– a term that is frequently used to describe techniques to slow the number of asylum
14
applicants who enter at any one time – at El Paso points of entry, I believed that these were
15
isolated incidents.
16
21.
During a press event in May 2018, I responded to a reporter’s question by
17
stating my belief that local ICE and CBP officers were not refusing to accept asylum seekers
18
in our area. At that point, a nun from our community who was sitting in the audience raised
19
her hand and offered that she had observed such refusals on the Paso del Norte, El Paso’s main
20
port of entry. That week, Annunciation House received a noticeable smaller number of ICE
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releases. Because of the week of lower client numbers, coupled with the reports from
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colleagues in other areas, increasing rumors in our community, and the nun’s remarks, I
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decided to observe for myself what was occurring at the Paso del Norte.
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22.
On May 25, 2018, at approximately 9:30 a.m., I went to the Paso del Norte
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alone to observe. The Paso del Norte is the main bridge into El Paso from Mexico, and to the
26
best of my knowledge, it sees more than 10,000 pedestrians crossing per day, traveling between
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
6
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
the two countries. When I arrived that morning, there were CBP officers stationed near the
2
middle of the bridge—where the border line is—but actually standing in a shady spot 5-10 feet
3
onto U.S. soil. I observed them for approximately two hours, including during a few apparent
4
shift changes when different CBP agents relieved the agents stationed at the middle of the
5
bridge.
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23.
During those two hours, I watched the CBP officers conduct “random”
7
identification checks of people crossing the middle point of the bridge. The officers did not
8
appear to have a system (e.g., every ten people) for the checks; instead, to my observation, they
9
primarily stopped those entrants who appeared to be Central American, particularly shorter,
10
darker skinned people. During that time, I watched them turn away two people. I then
11
approached those two people to ask what had happened; neither identified themselves as
12
asylum-seekers. One was seeking assistance with obtaining medical records and the other said
13
that he was simply waiting for a friend and had accidentally walked too far on the bridge.
14
24.
At around 11:30 that morning, I watched a short, dark skinned man with a child
15
approach the border and cross the middle of the bridge at the border line and into the United
16
States. The CBP officers stopped the man. While I could not initially hear what they were
17
saying, I watched them gesture to him to go back. As I watched, the CBP officer gestured
18
forcefully again three times to the man to turn back and cross the border back into Mexico. I
19
heard the CBP agent say to the man, “para alla” (“go there”), while gesturing forcefully
20
towards Mexico. The man finally turned back.
21
25.
When the man crossed back across the border line back into Mexico, I stopped
22
him and introduced myself. He began shaking and crying. He told me that he was fleeing
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violence in Guatemala with his six-year-old son and that he had come to request asylum. As I
24
had observed, he was prevented from presenting his claim by the CBP officers who he said
25
told him to go away and that he cannot seek asylum. We stood and spoke for a while about
26
what had happened and his intentions to seek asylum. The man was very afraid to return to
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
7
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
Mexico or to Guatemala. After this discussion, I offered to accompany him if he wanted to
2
enter again to present his asylum claim.
3
26.
Together, the three of us began walking back across the middle point of the
4
Paso del Norte Bridge. As we passed the border line at the middle of the bridge, and came into
5
the United States, the same CBP officers stopped us. “Didn’t we already tell you to go back?”
6
one of them said to the man. They once again asserted that he could not come in to the United
7
States.
8
27.
I explained to the CBP officers that I was accompanying the man and his son in
9
their attempt to lawfully assert a claim for asylum. Our conversation escalated, and the CBP
10
officers called on their radio, saying “we have some noncompliants here,” “we need a
11
supervisor,” and requesting additional support. Shortly thereafter, additional officers arrived,
12
for a total of the two original CBP officers and four supervisors. They repeatedly told the man
13
in my presence that he could not enter and claim asylum, that he and his child had to “wait
14
until there was space” and similar statements.
15
28.
During the course of our conversation, the CBP agents, including supervisors,
16
made the following statements to me or in my presence: “We have orders not to let anybody
17
in. As soon as we have room, yea.” “We have an order.” “This is a policy across the border.”
18
“There is no room for them right now. You can wait in line. Once there is room they can come
19
in.” “They can wait until we have room for them.” “It's an order from Sessions.”
20
29.
After I protested that the refusal was unlawful and that the man was already on
21
American soil, the CBP officers eventually relented and allowed the man and his son to proceed
22
to have their asylum claim entered for processing.
23
30.
After this incident, the two men I believe to be CBP supervisors pulled me aside
24
and said, approximately, “we’re all good now, right? We are being told to do this. We have
25
bosses too.”
26
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
8
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
31.
Two days later, the man and his son were released from ICE custody pending
2
resolution of their asylum claims. I believe that had I not been present and willing to directly
3
advocate for their right to present their claims at the port of entry, that CBP officers would
4
have continued to deny them entry until they either gave up or attempted to enter elsewhere.
5
32.
This experience was very upsetting on a personal level, as someone who has
6
dedicated her work to immigrant communities and the law. I had only just recently graduated
7
from law school a few days earlier and was shocked to hear CBP agents refusing to allow this
8
young man and his small child to be processed properly in accordance with the law. It was
9
especially infuriating to be told by the agents that there was no space to process these people
10
when I knew personally from my work with Annunciation House that this was simply not true.
11
Regardless, even if there was an actual lack of capacity at the bridge, the Immigration and
12
Nationality Act and U.S. treaty obligations do not allow agents to reject asylum-seekers for
13
alleged lack of capacity, especially when already standing on American soil.
14
33.
About a week later, on May 30, 2018, I returned to the Paso del Norte with
15
others, including the Executive Director of Annunciation House, Ruben Garcia, and a local
16
reporter Bob Moore. Again, we went with the express purpose of observing whether CBP
17
officers were refusing to allow asylum seekers to enter the country.
18
34.
We observed a group of about 15 Guatemalan refugees who had reportedly
19
spent the night on the bridge after having been turned away the day before. We spoke with
20
them, and confirmed that all were seeking asylum and had been turned away from the border
21
multiple times. Many members of the group were fathers traveling with their children, but
22
there was also one mother with a three year old child and several unaccompanied minors.
23
35.
After hearing their stories of being turned away, we decided to accompany the
24
mother and one of the unaccompanied minors, a teenage girl, as they tried again to present
25
themselves at the port of entry.
26
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
9
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
36.
Again we crossed the center of the bridge, over the border and onto U.S. soil.
2
CBP officers stopped us, and told us and the women that there was “no space” and that they
3
would have to come back some other time. In response to my protests that refusing an asylum
4
applicant on U.S. soil is unlawful, again the officers called for a supervisor to assist with
5
“noncompliants”.
6
37.
When the supervising officer arrived with other CPB officers, he asserted that
7
the CBP was not “turning people away,” but that they were not allowing people to cross until
8
there was space. As we continued to discuss, one of the officers who was carrying a large gun
9
moved to stand very near the mother with her three-year-old son. I observed her to be
10
frightened and intimidated by his behavior, which I believe to have been intentional. The man,
11
who was not wearing a name tag or other identification, then deliberately discharged his Taser
12
at the ground right in front of us.
13
38.
After more discussion, the CPB officers finally agreed to accept the women for
14
asylum processing; once again, this seemed to occur in part because I pointed out that we were
15
already standing on U.S. soil. Before we escorted them to the processing area, we saw one of
16
the fathers and two other boys from the group standing on the U.S. side of the border. We
17
explained to them that they did not have to leave, and were entitled to have their asylum
18
applications heard. We left to accompany the other women to the processing area, leaving the
19
other asylum-seekers behind. I did not return later to the bridge myself, but heard from Ruben
20
Garcia and another Annunciation House volunteer that when they returned approximately an
21
hour later with food and water, they could not find anyone else from the group.
22
39.
Bob Moore, who was present, reported on these events. See Bob Moore, Border
23
Agents are Using a New Weapon Against Asylum Seekers, Texas Monthly (June 2, 2018),
24
available at https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/immigrant-advocates-question-legality-
25
of-latest-federal-tactics/, attached hereto as Exhibit A. I read the article at the time it was
26
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
10
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
published, and both then and now I believe it to be an accurate recording of the events that he
2
describes.
3
40.
On or about June 20, 2018, I again went to Paso del Norte Port of Entry to
4
observe and accompany asylum-seekers with Ruben Garcia. While I was walking across the
5
bridge, I once again observed CBP officers stationed at the center of the bridge and checking
6
documentation.
7
41.
We crossed into Mexico and met up with two families of asylum-seekers who
8
had previously been denied entry by agents stationed at the middle of the bridge. Annunciation
9
House had become aware of these families through our contacts with nongovernmental
10
humanitarian organizations in Ciudad Juarez. The two families were Mexican asylum-seekers
11
with small children and they had agreed to allow the press to document the process of trying
12
to seek asylum at the Paso del Norte Port of Entry.
13
42.
There were approximately 30 reporters who joined us as we accompanied the
14
two families across the bridge. At the middle point of the bridge, CBP agents once again turned
15
us away, stating that they had no space. Several news outlets have published reports and video
16
of the encounter. The agents did tell us that we could wait until there was space, and the two
17
families were eventually permitted to cross the border onto U.S. soil and be processed as
18
asylum-seekers.
19
43.
Since the formal announcement of DHS’ family separation policy,
20
Annunciation house has seen a great number of separated parents. Many of these parents report
21
that it was only when they had been turned away at the port of entry – sometimes multiple
22
times – that they attempted to cross elsewhere and were prosecuted for unlawful entry.
23
44.
For example, on June 29, 2018, I interviewed a young woman from Guatemala
24
who was recently released from ICE custody after paying an immigration bond. She has not
25
seen her 3-year-old daughter in more than 2 weeks. This young woman explained to me that
26
she spent 2 days and 2 nights on the Paso del Norte Port of Entry with her 3-year-old trying to
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
11
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
present herself for asylum-processing. She told me that she was turned away by the agents at
2
the middle of the bridge several different times during those two days. Finally, someone
3
walking on the bridge suggested that she instead try walking against pedestrian traffic on the
4
other side of the bridge to present herself that way. Out of desperation—after having spent 2
5
days in the hot son on the bridge with her 3-year-old—this young woman decided to follow
6
the man’s advice. She crossed the bridge horizontally and began walking against the pedestrian
7
traffic leaving the U.S; this was in broad daylight. She was quickly apprehended by CBP agents
8
and charged with unlawful entry even though she was still on the bridge, just walking in the
9
wrong direction. She was then forcibly separated from her daughter.
10
45.
On June 30, 2018, I interviewed a man from Honduras who is currently detained
11
in the El Paso area after having been separated from his 3-year-old son since approximately
12
May 25, 2018. This man told me about attempting to cross the Paso del Norte Port of Entry
13
three times before eventually deciding to enter irregularly. This man told me that during his
14
first attempt, he was not stopped at the middle of the bridge and actually made it all the way to
15
building at the end of the U.S. side of the bridge where he waited in line and presented himself
16
for asylum to a CBP agent. The CBP agent ordered him to leave the building, saying they had
17
“orders from Washington” to not allow anyone else in. The man left the building to take his 3-
18
year-old son to the public restrooms right outside; he then returned from the bathroom and got
19
on his knees in front of the CBP agent and begged to be allowed in for asylum processing. The
20
CBP agent yelled at him and told him to get up and leave, while putting his hand on his gun
21
menacingly. The man left. A few hours later, he decided to try and cross again, this time being
22
turned away by CBP agents near the middle of the bridge, but several feet onto U.S. soil. The
23
next day, he tried to cross the bridge once again, but was turned away this time by a Mexican
24
official who was standing near the bridge and told him to leave or her would call Mexican
25
immigration. It was only then that this man decided to attempt to cross the border irregularly.
26
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
12
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
46.
When ICE releases separated parents from custody here in El Paso, the parents
2
are transported to our facility by bus or by van and dropped off with a 1-800 number for the
3
Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to call to try to locate their children. These mothers
4
and fathers have almost no information about when they will be reunited with their children,
5
and they arrive here terrified and shaken by their experience.
6
47.
For example, on last Sunday, June 24, 2018, we received 32 parents who had
7
been separated from their children. These parents arrived at Annunciation House absolutely
8
despondent. The youngest separated child in the group of parents was only 4 years old, while
9
the average age was 10 years old. The average length of separation was 25 days and the max
10
was 40 days. Ninety-one percent of the parents said that they had never once spoken with their
11
child since separation (though the majority said that their friends or family had been contacted
12
by their children’s social workers). Five of the parents reported that no one in their families
13
had heard from the children since separation—they had absolutely no idea about their
14
locations. It took Annunciation House volunteers four days and numerous phone calls to
15
random social workers of other parents to find the location of one of these children; during
16
those four days, we never received a call from ORR despite multiple calls to the ORR 1-800
17
number.
18
48.
In my experience, ORR generally requires sponsor families who want to host
19
an unaccompanied minor to complete a series of procedural checks. These include criminal
20
background checks, fingerprinting, sometimes a blood test, and detailed financial information.
21
ORR frequently requires a sponsor family to pay for the cost of airfare for the child and a
22
roundtrip ticket for an ORR companion to accompany the child. A true and correct copy of
23
ORR’s Family Reunification Packet is attached hereto as Exhibit B.
24
49.
The separated mothers and fathers that have arrived at Annunciation house
25
recently are struggling to navigate ORR’s reunification paperwork. They are being treated as
26
new ORR sponsors – subject to a host of paperwork and procedural hoops – rather than the
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
13
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
acknowledged parents of their children. Their social workers are insisting that they would
2
need to file all the Family Reunification paperwork and come up with airfare for their children
3
and ORR escorts before they would see their children again. All of these parents are deeply
4
worried about the ORR process taking too long and being overly cumbersome, especially given
5
their emotional states and long periods of separation.
6
50.
As such, the majority of these parents have decided to travel to their family and
7
friends in other cities across the U.S. Annunciation House is maintaining contact with these
8
parents and attempting to match them with pro bono legal counsel in their receiving
9
communities. We are also attempting to help them navigate the complex ORR bureaucracy.
10
51.
At least two parents have chosen to remain in El Paso while we attempt to
11
reunite them with their minor children (all three of whom are under the age of 10). In the case
12
of these two parents, their minor children are in ORR custody in El Paso. However, both
13
parents were originally told by their children’s social workers that it was impossible for them
14
to reunited with their children while living at our shelter. I was able to speak to both of these
15
social workers on Friday, June 29, and they told me that they were asking their supervisors
16
about reunification at our shelter. We are currently assisting them with the standard ORR
17
reunification packet, but this seems to be an unnecessary bureaucratic burden—as of today,
18
these two parents have been living at our shelter for an entire week, but they do not have their
19
children back, even though they are in ORR custody just a few minutes away.
20
52.
On Wednesday, June 27, 2018, seven separated mothers arrived at
21
Annunciation house after being released by ICE from three separate jails. These mothers had
22
been told by CBP that they were on their way to be reunited with their children immediately;
23
they all believed that their children were already at our shelter waiting for them. When they
24
arrived and realized that their children were not there, they were heartbroken. I personally
25
observed the pain and trauma that they experienced in that moment.
26
DECLARATION OF
TAYLOR LEVY
2:18-cv-00939-MJP
14
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue. Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
Exhibit A
Border Agents Are Using a New Weapon Against Asylum Seekers – Texas Monthly
Page 1 of 7
POLITICS
Border Agents Are Using a New
Weapon Against Asylum Seekers
Federal law allows immigrants to step into United States and claim
asylum; agents are physically preventing them from doing so.
BY
ROBERT MOORE
DATE
JUN 2, 2018
SHARE
NOTES
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Border Agents Are Using a New Weapon Against Asylum Seekers – Texas Monthly
Page 2 of 7
agents, asked for documents, and told they would not be allowed to go further into
the United States because of capacity issues. So began a tense standoff Saturday
that marks an escalation in U.S. tactics to keep immigrants out of the
country—including those legally entitled to enter and seek asylum—and relieve
crowded immigration facilities that officials say are filled beyond capacity.
“I know you’re not at capacity. I know that’s what you’ve been instructed to say,”
said Ruben Garcia, a 72-year-old who was inspired by Mother Teresa to found
Annunciation House in 1976. He has a good handle on how many people are being
detained at the bridges, because Immigration and Customs Enforcement
eventually releases many of them to Annunciation House. Taylor Levy, a recent
law school graduate who is working with Annunciation House, told the agents
they were legally required to let the Guatemalans make their asylum claim
because they are already several steps inside the country, a boundary that exists at
the bridge’s apex.
The two CBP agents, whose nametags identified them as Armendariz and Avila,
politely but firmly held their ground. Garcia asked to speak to a supervisor, and
they made the call. Before the supervisor arrived, another agent came up to the
group. His nametag was obscured by a tactical vest and a semiautomatic rifle.
The agents said they had been assigned to check IDs as people cross the boundary
line, a highly unusual effort coming at a time when President Trump is expressing
increasing frustration that his administration cannot control the nation’s
borders—a key campaign promise of his. IDs are usually required a couple
hundred yards further north, and well into U.S. soil, at the port of entry, where
people make citizenship and customs declarations—and apply for asylum. And
while the agents at the top of the bridge said they were checking the identification
of all people walking across the bridge, Levy noted that the agents weren’t
checking many IDs other than those of people with the dark skin and threadbare
clothing that is typical of many Central American migrants.
New Tactics
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Page 3 of 7
Saturday morning, Garcia got a report that a group of Guatemalans was encamped
in Juárez after being unable to cross the bridge. He invited me to accompany him
and Levy as they investigated. We walked south across the Paso del Norte Bridge,
the busiest pedestrian crossing between El Paso and Juárez, and saw two CBP
agents standing at the top of the northbound pedestrian lanes. Minutes after
crossing into Mexico, we spotted a group of about a dozen people huddled near
public restrooms at the Mexican immigration office, one of the few spots offering
shade. They told us that they had come from Guatemala and had been turned back
by U.S. authorities the previous night.
CBP officials confirmed what Garcia has been hearing from immigrants, both at
the bridge on this Saturday and in previous weeks at the Annunciation House
shelter.
“Regarding what you witnessed today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
is taking a proactive approach to ensure that arriving travelers have valid entry
documents in order to expedite the processing of lawful travel,” agency
spokesman Roger Maier said in an email. “That being said, CBP processes
undocumented persons as expeditiously as possible without negating the agency’s
overall mission, or compromising the safety of individuals within our custody.
“The number of inadmissible individuals CBP is able to process varies based upon
case complexity; available resources; medical needs; translation requirements;
holding/detention space; overall port volume; and ongoing enforcement actions.
No one is being denied the opportunity to make a claim of credible fear or seek
asylum. Once space is available and/or other factors allow then CBP officers allow
more people into our facilities for processing. This has been occurring
intermittently as needed for about a month here in El Paso and other locations as
well where the volume of arriving people exceeds the capacity of our facilities.”
Garcia, Levy, and other advocates for migrants say federal law prohibits agents
from turning away people who say they want to seek asylum, which is a means of
legal entry in to the United States. The Immigration and Nationality Act states:
“Any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in
the United States … irrespective of such alien’s status, may apply for asylum.” The
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Page 4 of 7
American Immigration Council last year filed a federal lawsuit in California
challenging what it said was the Trump administration’s efforts to illegally thwart
the efforts of asylum seekers. The case is pending.
The group of Guatemalans gathered on the Mexican side of the Paso del Norte
Bridge were the latest to be caught up in the Trump administration’s efforts to
reduce illegal immigration and clamp down on what it sees as exploitation of the
asylum process. The group included several men traveling with their sons; a
couple of teenage boys traveling without parents or guardians; the woman and her
baby; and the 16-year-old girl traveling by herself.
Garcia and Levy introduced themselves and asked the migrants about their
stories. They came from different villages but told similar tales of fleeing intense
poverty, a corrupt government, and violent street gangs who were trying to
dragoon young boys. The men and their sons wept openly as they spoke. The
young mother told Garcia and Levy that she had been raped in Guatemala.
The only young girl in the group was more reticent to discuss what caused her to
flee her home. “The pieces that she put out there was that she would go to school
and then she would lock herself up in her room when she would come back. And I
tried to get from her, ‘Why do you feel you need to do that?,’ and I couldn’t get an
answer to that,” Garcia said.
One man, barely over five feet tall and wearing a tattered orange t-shirt, told
Garcia that his two sons had joined him on the trek from Guatemala. But as they
attempted to cross the bridge earlier that day, he had gotten separated from his
sons, who crossed the bridge while he was turned back. The man sobbed as he told
his story.
“He said there was a group of people and they kind of merged in with that group,
kind of included themselves in that group. So they got in and he didn’t, which is
going to create a huge problem for him, huge problems not being with his kids,”
Garcia said.
Levy and Garcia huddled briefly to determine how to proceed. They decided to
focus their efforts on the teenage girl, as well as the mother and child. Garcia told
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Page 5 of 7
the group of men and boys a bit about the U.S. asylum process, telling them they
had to make such decisions themselves. He and Levy then began walking up the
bridge with the mother, her baby, and the teenage girl. That’s when they were met
by the agents blocking their path at the top of the bridge.
“I’m Following Directions”
After the initial standoff with agents Armendariz and Avila at the top of the
bridge, a supervisor arrived. He introduced himself as Agent Gomez and
recognized Garcia, who has a long history of working with border law enforcement
agencies.
“This mom is saying to me, ‘I am afraid to be in my country, I’m afraid to go back to
my country,’” Garcia said. Gomez asked, in Spanish, where the three migrants
were from, and Garcia said Guatemala. Gomez replied, “OK, well, they’re not in
Guatemala,” meaning they were now in Mexico. Levy corrected him, pointing out
that they were standing in the United States.
Gomez told Garcia that he couldn’t allow the Guatemalans to come forward
because the holding cells at the port were at capacity. He reminded Garcia of past
surges of Central American migrants that led to what the CBP official called
“inhumane” conditions in packed port of entry holding cells. “We are not
absolutely saying that they cannot (make an asylum claim), we are just saying that
we cannot process them at this time,” Gomez said.
When Garcia said the law required CBP to process their asylum claims, Gomez
said: “Sir, I’m sure you know I’m following directions. And this is not even local
directions.”
Garcia wasn’t buying it. “I know by the numbers (of migrants) that ICE is turning
over to us that there is room, because the numbers are low and they have been low
this whole week,” he told Gomez.
Garcia and Gomez had been talking for about four minutes when Garcia asked: “So
right now, as far as they are concerned, I’m understanding you to say you will not
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Border Agents Are Using a New Weapon Against Asylum Seekers – Texas Monthly
Page 6 of 7
allow them to present (for asylum).” Then Gomez changed course. “They are, as
(Levy) pointed out, stepping on U.S. soil, so we are going to take them in” to
process their asylum claims. Agents Armendariz and Avila escorted the mother,
her baby, and the teen girl to the port of entry.
By this time, some of the other Guatemalans had made their way up the bridge.
Four were standing just inside U.S. territory; three—including the father who had
been separated from his sons earlier in the day— were on the Mexican side of the
line. Two CBP agents who had been standing a few feet from the border stepped
forward and stood directly on the line. I witnessed one of the agents, whose
nametag said Augustin, take a couple steps into Mexico to prevent one of the
Guatemalans from crossing into the United States. CBP spokesman Maier later
said port officials denied that any agent crossed into Mexico.
Garcia told the two boys and two men who were just inside U.S. territory that they
could not be ordered to move back across the line. He told them he was going to
get some sandwiches and water in El Paso, and would return.
When he came back an hour later, everyone was gone. The four people who had
been just inside the United States, gone. The other Guatemalans who had been in
Mexico, either just on the other side of the boundary or at the foot of the bridge,
gone.
Garcia approached the agents. “I said, ‘What happened to them?’ They said, ‘They
went back.’ And I said, ‘What happened to the ones that were standing right here
on this side of the boundary line?’ And they said, ‘Well, they went back as well.’”
159
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Exhibit B
Administration for Children & Families
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Family Reunification Application
How to complete this application
IMPORTANT: If you cannot complete these steps within seven (7) days, please tell your Case Manager.
Step 1
If you have not already done so, you must immediately sign and return the Authorization for Release
of Information form and a copy of your government issued photo ID to your Case Manager.
If you are required to submit fingerprints, your Case Manager will assist you to schedule an appointment
to submit your fingerprints within three (3) days. Contact your Case Manager if you have questions.
Step 2
Read the Sponsor Handbook and the Sponsor Care Agreement which includes other important
information you need to know about sponsoring a minor in our program.
Step 3
Complete and sign the Family Reunification Application (pages 3-7 in this packet).
Step 4
Gather the required documents listed on the Supporting Documents section (pages 8-10 in this
packet).
Step 5
Submit the Family Reunification Application (this application) and the required supporting
documents to your Case Manager.
ORR UAC/FRP-3 [Rev. 05/14/2018]
OMB 0970-0278 [valid through 10/31/2018]
Page 1 of 10
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.5 hour per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Please see the accompanying
privacy notice / Privacy Act statement for a discussion of (1) the authority for solicitation of information, and whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, (2) the
principal purposes for which the information is intended to be used, (3) other routine uses which may be made of the information, and (4) the effects, if any, of not
providing all or any part of the requested information.
Family Reunification Application
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sponsor my child if I am undocumented?
Yes. ORR/DUCO prefers to release a child to a parent or legal guardian, regardless of your immigration status.
Is there a cost to sponsor a child?
No. There is no fee to complete the requirements to sponsor a child, however you may be responsible for costs
associated with the child's travel and escort.
Do I need an attorney to sponsor a child?
No. You do not need an attorney to complete the requirements to sponsor a child. If you need help completing
the requirements, your Case Manager can assist you. If you seek additional assistance, note that there is no fee
to complete the requirements to sponsor a child.
Why do I have to submit my fingerprints?
ORR/DUCO requires background checks to ensure the safety of the child. If you are required to submit
fingerprints, your Case Manager will assist you to schedule an appointment to submit your fingerprints within
three (3) days. Contact your Case Manager if you have questions.
What information do I have to provide?
You must complete the Family Reunification Application and supporting documentation. You must also
answer questions from your Case Manager about your household, your relationship with the child, and your
ability to care for the physical and mental well-being of the child. You must provide proof of your identity.
When do I need to give these documents to my Case Manager?
You should submit all required information within seven (7) days or earlier, if possible. The sooner you submit
all required documents, the sooner ORR will make a decision on releasing the child to your custody. ORR will
promptly inform you of a decision on releasing the child to your custody or will notify you if additional
information or assessment is required.
ORR UAC/FRP-3 [Rev. 05/14/2018]
OMB 0970-0278 [valid through 10/31/2018]
Need Help? Contact your Case Manager.
Page 2 of 10
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.5 hour per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Please see the accompanying
privacy notice / Privacy Act statement for a discussion of (1) the authority for solicitation of information, and whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, (2) the
principal purposes for which the information is intended to be used, (3) other routine uses which may be made of the information, and (4) the effects, if any, of not
providing all or any part of the requested information.
Family Reunification Application
Office of Refugee Resettlement
About you - the sponsor - and the minor(s)
1) Name(s) of the minor(s)
List the names of all children you are applying to sponsor
2) Your relationship to the minor(s)
e.g., mother, uncle, family friend
3) Your Name
4) Other names you have used
List other names you have used, such as your
name before you were married or maternal
last names (separate with commas)
5) Your country of origin
Where you were born
6) Your date of birth
e.g., 12/31/1979
7) Phone numbers
e.g., 210-555-1234
Primary Phone
Secondary Phone
8) Your email address or fax number
9) Language(s) you speak
ORR UAC/FRP-3 [Rev. 05/14/2018]
OMB 0970-0278 [valid through 10/31/2018]
Need Help? Contact your Case Manager.
Page 3 of 10
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.5 hour per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Please see the accompanying
privacy notice / Privacy Act statement for a discussion of (1) the authority for solicitation of information, and whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, (2) the
principal purposes for which the information is intended to be used, (3) other routine uses which may be made of the information, and (4) the effects, if any, of not
providing all or any part of the requested information.
Family Reunification Application
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Where will you and the minor(s) live?
10) Address
Street Address
(+ apartment number, if applicable)
City
State
Zip code
11) Who currently lives at this address?
Household Member Name
(EXAMPLE) Miguel Perez
ORR UAC/FRP-3 [Rev. 05/14/2018]
OMB 0970-0278 [valid through 10/31/2018]
Date of Birth
12/31/1985
Relationship to Relationship to
you (the sponsor) the minor
Brother
Need Help? Contact your Case Manager.
Uncle
Page 4 of 10
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.5 hour per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Please see the accompanying
privacy notice / Privacy Act statement for a discussion of (1) the authority for solicitation of information, and whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, (2) the
principal purposes for which the information is intended to be used, (3) other routine uses which may be made of the information, and (4) the effects, if any, of not
providing all or any part of the requested information.
Family Reunification Application
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Adult Who Will Care for the Minor(s) if You Cannot
If you might need to leave the United States or become unable to care for the minor(s), who will care for the
minor(s)?
12a) Name of potential adult caregiver
12b) Date of birth of potential adult caregiver
12c) Contact information of potential adult caregiver
Phone Number
Street Address
(+ apartment number, if applicable)
City
State
Zip code
12d) What is their relationship to the minor(s)?
(grandparent, aunt, sibling over 18 years old, etc.)
12e) What is their relationship to you, the sponsor?
12f) How will the minor(s) be cared for if you leave the United States or become unable to care for them?
ORR UAC/FRP-3 [Rev. 05/14/2018]
OMB 0970-0278 [valid through 10/31/2018]
Need Help? Contact your Case Manager.
Page 5 of 10
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.5 hour per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Please see the accompanying
privacy notice / Privacy Act statement for a discussion of (1) the authority for solicitation of information, and whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, (2) the
principal purposes for which the information is intended to be used, (3) other routine uses which may be made of the information, and (4) the effects, if any, of not
providing all or any part of the requested information.
Family Reunification Application
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Financial Information
13) How will you financially support the minor(s)?
Include all sources and amounts of your income (for example, the amount you are paid each week) as well
as explaining any financial support from others who will help financially support the minor(s).
Health Information
14a) Does any person in your household have any serious contagious diseases (TB, AIDS, hepatitis, etc.)?
If so, please explain:
14b) Are you aware of any health conditions the minor(s) may have (disabilities, allergies, diseases,
etc.)? If so, please explain:
ORR UAC/FRP-3 [Rev. 05/14/2018]
OMB 0970-0278 [valid through 10/31/2018]
Need Help? Contact your Case Manager.
Page 6 of 10
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.5 hour per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Please see the accompanying
privacy notice / Privacy Act statement for a discussion of (1) the authority for solicitation of information, and whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, (2) the
principal purposes for which the information is intended to be used, (3) other routine uses which may be made of the information, and (4) the effects, if any, of not
providing all or any part of the requested information.
Family Reunification Application
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Criminal History
If you answer “YES” to either of these questions, you will need to provide more information. See the Supporting
Documentation page (page 9 of this packet) for more information.
15a) Have you or any person in your household ever been charged with or convicted of a crime (other
than a minor traffic violation; e.g. speeding, parking ticket, etc.)?
Yes
No
15b) Have you or any person in your household ever been investigated for the physical abuse, sexual
abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a minor?
Yes
No
Sign & Date Your Application
I declare and affirm under penalty of perjury that the information contained in this application is true and
accurate to the best of my knowledge.
I attest that all documents I am submitting or copies of those documents are free of error and fraud.
I further attest that I will abide by the care instructions contained in the Sponsor Care Agreement.
I will provide for the physical and mental well being of the minor(s). I will also comply with my state's laws
regarding the care of this minor including:
• enrolling the minor(s) in school;
• providing medical care when needed;
• protecting the minor(s) from abuse, neglect, and abandonment;
• and any other requirement not herein contained.
YOUR SIGNATURE
ORR UAC/FRP-3 [Rev. 05/14/2018]
OMB 0970-0278 [valid through 10/31/2018]
DATE
Need Help? Contact your Case Manager.
Page 7 of 10
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.5 hour per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Please see the accompanying
privacy notice / Privacy Act statement for a discussion of (1) the authority for solicitation of information, and whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, (2) the
principal purposes for which the information is intended to be used, (3) other routine uses which may be made of the information, and (4) the effects, if any, of not
providing all or any part of the requested information.
Family Reunification Application
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Supporting Documents
Please provide a copy of the following documents below. If you are unable to provide the documents we ask
for, please explain why. We may reject your application if any of the required information is missing,
incomplete, or inaccurate.
1) Proof of Identity for you and any household members
A copy of a government issued ID. You may present one selection from List A or two or more selections from
List B. If you present selections from List B, at least on selection must contain a photograph. Expired
documents are acceptable.
List A
U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport Card
Foreign Passport that contains a photograph
Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551)
Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph (Form I-766)
U.S. Driver's License or Identification Card
List B
U.S. Certificate of Naturalization
U.S. Military Identification Card
Birth Certificate
Marriage certificate
Court order for name change
Foreign national identification card
Consular passport renewal receipt that contains a photograph
Mexican consular identification card
Foreign driver's license that contains a photograph
Foreign voter registration card that contains a photograph
Canadian border crossing card that contains a photograph
Mexican border crossing card that contains a photograph with valid Form I-94
Refugee travel documents that contains a photograph
Other similar government documents
ORR UAC/FRP-3 [Rev. 05/14/2018]
OMB 0970-0278 [valid through 10/31/2018]
Need Help? Contact your Case Manager.
Page 8 of 10
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.5 hour per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Please see the accompanying
privacy notice / Privacy Act statement for a discussion of (1) the authority for solicitation of information, and whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, (2) the
principal purposes for which the information is intended to be used, (3) other routine uses which may be made of the information, and (4) the effects, if any, of not
providing all or any part of the requested information.
Family Reunification Application
Office of Refugee Resettlement
2) Proof of Minor's Identity
A copy of the minor's birth certificate
3) Proof of Relationship
Copies of documents to provide proof of a relationship between you and the minor. Expired documents are
acceptable.
Your Relationship to
the Minor
Parent
Acceptable Documents
• Birth certificates
• Court records
• Parent's government issued photo ID
Step-Parent
You have legally
adopted the minor
•
•
•
•
•
Legal Guardian
• Court order documents confirming adoption or legal guardianship has
been established
• Birth certificates
• Legal guardian's government issued photo ID
• Guardianship records
• Death Certificates
• Hospital records
Family Member
• Birth certificates
• Trail of familial birth and/or death certificates showing that you and the
minor are related
• Marriage certificates
• Hospital records
• Court records
• Guardianship records
• Baptismal certificate
Birth certificates
Parent's government issued photo ID
Step-Parent's government issued photo ID
Marriage certificate
Court order documents confirming adoption or legal guardianship has
been established
You are not related to Please contact your Case Manager
the minor
ORR UAC/FRP-3 [Rev. 05/14/2018]
OMB 0970-0278 [valid through 10/31/2018]
Need Help? Contact your Case Manager.
Page 9 of 10
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.5 hour per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Please see the accompanying
privacy notice / Privacy Act statement for a discussion of (1) the authority for solicitation of information, and whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, (2) the
principal purposes for which the information is intended to be used, (3) other routine uses which may be made of the information, and (4) the effects, if any, of not
providing all or any part of the requested information.
Family Reunification Application
Office of Refugee Resettlement
4) Legal Records (if applicable)
If you answered “YES” to either question 15(a) or 15(b) on this form, please provide us with the following
information for each charge/conviction:
• Name of person involved
• Place and date of the incident
• Explanation of the incident
• Disposition of the incident (e.g., charges dropped, fined, imprisoned, probation)
• Copy of court record(s), police record(s), and/or governmental social service agency record(s)
related to the incident(s)
5) Proof of Address
A copy of at least one form of documentation verifying your current address. Acceptable forms of
documentation include:
• Your current lease with your name, dated within the last two months
• Your current mortgage statement with your name, dated within the last two months
• Your bank statement dated within the last two months
• An official payroll check stub issued by your employer, dated within the last two months
• Your valid unexpired State ID with your photograph and your current address
• Mail, preferably a utility bill or insurance statement, addressed to you at your current address, dated
within the last two months
• A notarized letter from your landlord confirming your address and containing your name, the date
you moved in, the number of bedrooms, and the expiration date of the lease
• Other similar documents reliably indicating that you live at your current address, dated within the
last two months
ORR UAC/FRP-3 [Rev. 05/14/2018]
OMB 0970-0278 [valid through 10/31/2018]
Need Help? Contact your Case Manager.
Page 10 of 10
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.5 hour per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Please see the accompanying
privacy notice / Privacy Act statement for a discussion of (1) the authority for solicitation of information, and whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, (2) the
principal purposes for which the information is intended to be used, (3) other routine uses which may be made of the information, and (4) the effects, if any, of not
providing all or any part of the requested information.
Exhibit 2
21
3
4
5
6
7
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE
8
9
STATE OF WASHINGTON, et al.,
10
11
12
NO. 2:18-cv-MJP
Plaintiffs,
DECLARATION OF
ALMA POLETTI MERLO
V.
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
13
Defendants.
14
15
I, Alma Poletti Merlo, declare as follows:
16
1.
I am over the age of 18 and have personal knowledge of all the facts stated herein.
17
2.
1 am an investigator for the Office of the Attorney General of the State of
18
19
Washington, in the Civil Rights Unit (CRU), where I have worked since May 2017.
3.
Prior to joining the AGO, I investigated document fraud and human trafficking
20
cases in Paraguay, my native country, for the U.S. State Department. This work involved
21
interviewing victims who had experienced significant trauma and had limited knowledge of
22
Paraguayan and/or United States laws. Many times, the people I interviewed feared that
23
cooperation with my investigation could endanger themselves or their families. I am native
24
Spanish speaker.
25
4.
26
In my time with the AGO's CRU, I have served as the lead investigator on several
cases involving vulnerable populations and victims. I have worked directly with sexual
DECLARATION OF
ALMA POLETTI MERLO
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
1
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(360) 464-7744
I
harassment and assault victims in our workplace cases, and conducted interviews with dozens of
2
immigration detainees at the Northwest Detention Center in connection with another lawsuit.
3
5.
Between the dates of June 13 and June 18, 2018, I interviewed eight children in
4
the Seattle area who were separated from their parent at the border and placed in Washington
5
State by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. My observations and their accounts are as follows:
6
6.
G is 15 years old and originally from El Salvador. In her home country, G was
7
being threatened by a member of a criminal association. Her mother cried when G told her about
8
this person. G and her mother fled to the U.S. They arrived in Texas in early June, 2018.
9
Immigration officials at the border took them to a place G calls "the icebox."
10
7.
They told her mother that G would be taken to another place where she would be
11
able to visit her. G and her mother said goodbye to each other while crying, but G's mother
12
comforted her, saying she was going to visit her wherever she was going. Only later did G
13
realize this was not true. As she recounted this moment, G was sobbing and visibly distraught.
14
8.
G was taken to a shelter about 15 minutes away, where she was detained for three
15
days. G described this place as awful. It was a room with no windows divided in three by wire
16
fencing that made them look like three cages. 20 girls were detained in each cage. The place
17
was freezing because they kept the air conditioner on all the time, and each child was given a
18
mat and an aluminum blanket to keep themselves warm. The girls placed their mats in the floor
19
very close to one another, since there was not enough space to fit them more comfortably. Girls
20
as young as 3 years old were detained in this place and without their mothers.
21
9.
G described an incident where a 4 year old girl was crying and walking towards
22
a female guard seeking comfort. The guard turned her away saying she had no time to lose and
23
the girl was disrupting her work. The older girls attempted to console the girl.
24
25
10.
G felt hungry most of the time she was there because the food they provided her
wasn't good in quality or quantity. She could not sleep through the night; the guards would wake
26 1 all the girls up at 4 am to count them by kicking on their mats. When G was finally able to fall
DECLARATION OF
ALMA POLETTI MERLO
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
2
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
88
(360) 464-7744
I
back asleep, guards woke the girls up again to feed them. G cried when she told me she kept
2
hoping her mother would show up to take her out of that horrible place, but that never happened.
3
G asked the guards if they knew where and how her mother was, but they told her they knew
4
nothing about her. G overheard a girl asking to make a phone call to her family, but she was
5
told they did not allow girls to make phone calls while detained.
6
11.
During these three days, G had no idea where her mother was, or how long she
7
would be detained in that place. On the third day, G was told that since her mother did not show
8
up to pick her up, she was going to be taken to a home. She was taken to the airport, where she
9
flew to Washington State accompanied by two officers. She arrived in Washington State
10
approximately June 4, 2018, and it was a few days later when G was finally able to talk to her
I1
mother. She told G she was still detained at the first icebox where Immigrations took her. G
12
again broke down in tears when she explained that her mother reports going hungry at the place
13
they are keeping her. She said her mother is her hero, a brave woman who always worked hard
14
to support her and give her the best she could. G said that no Immigration official has ever asked
15
her why they fled El Salvador.
16
12.
V is 17 years old and originally from Guatemala. V came to the United States
17
with her father on or about May 13, 2018. Immigration officials in the United States took V and
18
her father to a house where they took away their belongings. They were then taken to another
19
house about two hours away. At this house they separated V from her father. The separation
20
was hard, V did not want to stay there without her father and cried when they told her they were
21
taking her father to another place. She was crying when they took her father away, and the guards
22
told her to shut up. V said she was detained for about three days in this place without her father.
23
The guards gave her a mat and an aluminum blanket, the place was really cold. They fed her
24
burritos and cookies about three times a day, it wasn't very good food so she didn't eat it most
25
of the time.
26
DECLARATION OF
ALMA POLETTI MERLO
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
3
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(360) 464-7744
1
13.
There were other 10 or 12 girls detained with V, some as young as 6 or 7 years
2
old. The guards scared the girls saying things like "You will see what will happen next to you
3
girls", frightening them. The guards told the younger girls they would betaken to jail afterwards,
4
which frightened them. There was a female officer who would tell them that was a lie and tried
5
to calm the girls down saying her colleagues were lying. On the fourth day, V was put on a bus
6
and brought to Washington state, arriving here on or about May 16, 2018. It was another 15
7
days before she was able to talk to her father, who she believes is still detained in Arizona.
8
9
10
11
14.
As of the time of our interview, V had only been able to speak to her father once,
which caused her visible distress. She is worried about her dad being treated well. She is working
with a therapist because she has nightmares.
15.
On her journey with her father, V got hurt and received deep scratches from
12
thorns in the bushes. At the time of our interview, she still had one thorn deeply lodged in her
13
shoulder that was infected. She reported that she had been given medication for it and received
14
treatment when she arrived to the home where she is currently living.
15
16.
A is 15 years old and originally from Guatemala. A said that a man attempted to
16
rape her in her home country, but the Guatemalan police did nothing to find or arrest this person.
17
Her father decided to bring her to the United States. They arrived in Texas in mid-May, 2018.
18
Immigration officers at the border drove them both to an icebox, but they were separated once
19
they arrived and placed into different cells. They never warned them they were going to be
20
separated, so she did not get a chance to say goodbye to her father.
21
17.
A was placed in a room with other 12 women and girls. Most of the girls who
22
were there were 17 or 16 years old, but there was one girl about 6 years old who was there
23
without her mother. A was detained at the icebox for three days. She did not like the food she
24
was given. The guards were angry and yelling, which scared her and the other girls.
25
18.
A told the officer that interviewed her that she was afraid to go back home because
26 1 of the man that tried to rape her. The guard told her he did not believe her, that she was telling a
DECLARATION OF
ALMA POLETTI MERLO
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
4
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(360) 464-7744
I
bunch of lies. He also told A that her father was going to be sent to jail for a long time, which
2
scared A and left her very worried. A had tears in her eyes and was visibly upset while recounting
3
these events. A was then told her father had been deported so she was going to be taken to a
4
home. After three days of being detained in the icebox, she was escorted in a flight to Washington
5
State where she arrived on or about May 16, 2018. Afterward, she was finally able to contact
6
her family in Guatemala and speak to her father.
7
19.
H is 13 years old and originally from Guatemala. She came to the United States
8
with her father around mid-May 2018. Immigration officers took them to a house where another
9
father and three kids were detained. They spent the night at this house and the following morning
10
the officers took her to another house, without her father. They did not let her say goodbye to
11
her father or tell them in advance that they were separating them. H started crying while
12
recounting these events and was unable to continue speaking for some time.
13
20.
H reported that the guards threatened the people that they detained with separating
14
them and sending them back home, she overheard them telling others they would be jailed for
15
about 10 or 15 years, which scared her. The younger children were crying.
16
21.
H arrived in Washington State on or about May 22, 2018. At the time of our
17
interview, H had not spoken with her father since they were separated. She believes he continues
18
to be detained in the US but she is not sure where he is. She was visibly worried about him and
19
could not talk about her father without breaking in tears. H had a hard time talking during most
20
of the interview, was visibly upset and broke down in tears frequently.
21
22.
T is 12 years old and originally from Guatemala. T came to California with his
22
father but he was not sure when, he thinks in early January 2018. They were detained by
23
Immigration officers at the border and taken to a house that was basically a room without a
24
window. T could not tell night from day, so he is not sure how long they spent there. The room
25
was divided in what seemed like halls with low walls that divided them. Two people slept in
26
each hall. He and his father were given a mat and aluminum blankets to cover themselves.
DECLARATION OF
ALMA POLETTI MERLO
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
5
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(360)464-7744
1
23.
When they woke up, immigration officials told T to say goodbye to his father,
2
and that his father was going to another place. T said this moment was sad, both cried, hugged
3
and said goodbye. T was then taken to another house where he was hungry most of the time.
4
He thinks he was detained at this house for two more days. He was sad because his father was
5
not there and he felt lonely. After those two days they flew him to Washington State where he
6
was able to speak to his family in Guatemala and to his father, who had been deported.
7
24.
M is 13 years old and originally from Honduras. M came to the United States
8
with her father in early June 2018. They encountered Immigration officers at the border, who
9
took her backpack away and drove them both to the icebox. When they arrived the officers
10
separated her from her father, she went to a room where only women were detained. They told
11
her she was going to see him afterwards, but she never saw him again. M had tears in her eyes
12
while recounting this part of the story, and said she misses her father and was scared when this
13
happened.
14
25.
M described the icebox as a very cold room with one window facing the offices,
15
so they could not see outside the room. The air conditioner was always on. They gave the girls
16
aluminum blankets to cover themselves. They fed her apples, cookies, chips and tacos. She was
17
hungry sometimes. She was afraid because her father was no longer with her. After a while, she
18
was taken to a second place, where people were separated in areas divided by wire fencing. M
19
said some of the guards were mean to people, they scolded them and told them "we are in charge
20
of this place, not you". It was only after she arrived in Washington State at the home where she
21
is now living that she was able to speak with her dad. Her dad is still at the icebox in Texas and
22
as of our interview, she had only spoken to him once.
23
26.
D is 14 years old and originally from Guatemala. D came to Arizona with his
24
father about four months ago, but he is not sure when. Immigration officers at the border took
25
them to a house where they fed them a tamale and juice. The guards threw away their belongings,
26
and left them with the clothes they were wearing. Right after this, they moved both of them to
DECLARATION OF
ALMA POLETTI MERLO
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
6
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(360) 464-7744
I
another house where he was able to sleep with his father. They gave him a thin mat and an
2
aluminum blanket. The next day, Immigration officials moved them both to a different house
3
where he spent half a day with his father.
4
27.
The following day, Immigration officials told D's father that they were going to
5
send D to a program where if he behaved well he was going to be able to stay in the United
6
States. D was sad and upset; he did not want to leave his father. D was taken to a home in
7
Arizona where he lived for a while. Weeks passed during which D had no information or contact
8
with his father. He was then transferred to the home where he lives now in Renton, WA, several
9
weeks ago.
10
28.
D believes his father is still detained in Arizona. At the time of our interview, D
11
had been able to speak to his father only once. He would like to speak to him again, he wants to
12
know how he is doing, what food he is getting, and if they have given him clothes. D got
13
emotional while talking about his worries about his father, he was visibly affected by it.
14
29.
MN is 15 years old and originally from Guatemala. He came to the United States
15
in January 2018 with his father. Immigration officials at the border took them to a house where
16
he spent two days with his father. Afterwards, they told MN his father was going to be deported,
17
so they had to move MN to another place. MN and his dad said goodbye, but officials never told
18
him or his dad where they were taking MN. MN said he was sad to leave without his father.
19
30.
MN was taken to a place that he described as very cold, there were no mats or
20
blankets to rest and keep him warm. After a day he was sent to another location where they gave
21
him a mat and blankets. The food was not much, and MN was hungry. After a day or two, MN
22
was moved to a home he thinks is located in Arizona, where he was able to speak to his mother
23
in Guatemala.
24
31.
MN was only able to speak to his father afterwards, when he learned that his
25
father had spent 22 days in jail and was deported without MN. MN was reluctant to speak much
26
about his father, in my observation he appeared very concerned about his father's well-being.
DECLARATION OF
ALMA POLETTI MERLO
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
7
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
88
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(360)464-7744
1
32.
At the time of our interview, MN was in a home in Tacoma. He had been treated
2
by a dentist in Arizona who had filled a cavity, but he did not do a good job. The filling did not
3
last, and his tooth began hurting again. The day of our interview, his tooth hurt so much that
4
MN had not been able to eat that day. MN wants to be reunited with his parents and siblings.
5
He has asked for voluntary departure but has been told that he must wait 2 or 3 more months to
6
have a hearing with a Judge before he can see his family. In the meantime, MN says that time
7
goes by very slowly and that he misses his family very much.
8
33.
Some of the other children I interviewed at the homes mentioned that when they
9
were being transferred from a home in one State to the one they are now living in Washington
10
state, they were told they were going to be reunited with family or that they were going to a
11
better and bigger home. They expressed anger and feeling deceived when, after their flight
12
landed in Washington, they realized they were brought to another facility and that reunification
13
was not actually planned.
14
34.
On June 20th, 2018, I went with five colleagues from the Attorney General's
15
Office to visit the Federal Detention Center (FDC) located in SeaTac. We were received by
16
FDC's Warden and other authorities who took us first to a pod of detained women identified as
17
pod FC. The women who were detained in that pod gathered in the common area to speak to us.
18
35.
We asked if any of the women there were mothers who had been separated from
19
their children at the border. The women told us there had been more than 10 mothers in the pod
20
that were separated from their children at the border, but that ICE had moved them out of the
21
FDC the day of our planned visit. When asked where they were moved to, some said that ICE
22
told the mothers they were going to be reunited with their children. They provided us a list of
23
names of some of the mothers that were moved that morning.
24
36.
25
26
Only two mothers who were separated from their children at the border remained
in that pod. I conducted a more detailed interview with one of those mothers. She cried and had
1
tears in her eyes from the beginning to the end of the interview. She has a 14 year old daughter
DECLARATION OF
ALMA POLETTI MERLO
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
8
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(360) 464-7744
I
from whom she was separated at the border over a month ago. As of the day I interviewed her,
2
she had not been able to speak to her daughter and was deeply concerned about her wellbeing.
3
37.
When we finished with these two interviews, we were taken to women's pod FB.
4
Similarly to the previous pod, the women gathered in the common area and told us that 13 or 15
5
women who had been separated from their children at the border had been moved out of the FDC
6
that morning. They also provided us with names of some of the mothers that were moved that
7
morning.
8
38.
A few days after our visit to the FDC, I looked up the names of the mothers that
9
were moved out of the FDC the morning of our visit, using the ICE detainee locator website and
10
Access Corrections website, and found out that most of those mothers are now detained in the
11
Tacoma Northwest Detention Center.
12
39.
Some of the women who were detained in pod FB told us about the poor treatment
13
they received while being detained by ICE at the border. They were detained in places they
14
called "hieleras" (iceboxes) because it was freezing in there. The floor was wet with water. The
15
detainees knew their personal belongings were stored somewhere there by ICE, so they requested
16
to get their coats back not to freeze in the iceboxes, but they wouldn't give them back to them.
17
She said that they were only fed two tacos in the whole day. They gave them water with ice to
18
drink, which was awful considering they were already freezing. They would sometimes provide
19
them aluminum foil blankets. The women weren't allowed to shower, and the guards would
20
make fun of them, telling them they stank.
21
40.
Some of the women described how when they were taken to the airport in Laredo
22
to wait for their flight to Seattle, they were detained in a small room from about 6 pm until early
23
morning. They weren't able to sleep because there wasn't enough room for them to lay down.
24
They were hungry the whole night because they weren't given any food. They also said they
25
were disgusted when they were given used stained underwear to wear.
26
DECLARATION OF
ALMA POLETTI MERLO
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
9
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
88
(360) 464-7744
1
41.
The last pod they took us to visit was pod FA. FDC's officers warned us there
2
had been a case of chicken pox in that pod, so they were on quarantine. There were at least 7
3
women in this last pod who stated they had been separated from their children at the border. I
4
conducted a more detailed interview of one of these women. My team was able to interview
5
some of the other women. The woman I spoke with had come to the U.S. with her 11-year-old
6
only child, whom she hasn't heard from in over a month. The woman trembled while telling me
7
she ran away from Honduras because she was being threatened after witnessing a murder. She
8
couldn't contain her tears during the interview while talking about her son, who she is very
9
concerned about.
10
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington and the
11
United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct.
12
DATED this 2nd day of July, 2018 at Seattle, Washington.
13
14
(i
~,~
Ct~- -
Alma Po etti Merlo
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF
ALMA POLETTI MERLO
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
10
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(360) 464-7744
Exhibit 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE
8
9
STATE OF WASHINGTON, et al.,
10
11
12
13
NO. 2:18-cv-00939 - MJP
Plaintiffs,
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
v.
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
Defendants.
14
15
I, Nicole Elizabeth Ramos, declare as follows:
16
1.
I am a U.S. licensed attorney practicing in the area of immigration law and human
17
rights. I am barred by the State of New York, and I am a former Assistant Federal Public
18
Defender.
19
2.
I am over the age of 18 and have personal knowledge of all the facts stated herein.
At present, I serve as the Project Director for the Border Rights Project of Al Otro
20
Lado, a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles. The Border Rights Project provides pro
21
bono representation and know-your-rights education to refugees in Tijuana. As part of this
22
representation, I accompany asylum seekers who wish to present themselves to Customs and
23
Border Protection (CBP) officers at the San Ysidro port-of-entry (POE), and represent them at
24
their credible fear interviews before the Asylum Office. In addition, I work with asylum seekers
25
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
1
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
and other community advocates to document human rights violations by both U.S. and Mexican
2
immigration authorities against asylum seekers.
3
3.
In my experience, refugees seeking asylum at the POE near Tijuana face a
4
widespread practice of CBP officers who refuse to allow them to access the legal process for
5
asylum. In December 2015, I first began accompanying asylum seekers to the port-of-entry.
6
Since that time, I have accompanied hundreds of asylum seekers to the port-of-entry over the
7
course of dozens of different occasions. In addition, I also served as an organizing member of
8
the legal team for five group presentations of asylum seekers from May 2017-May 2018, at the
9
San Ysidro POE. Of those asylum seekers dozens had been previously turned away by CBP
10
11
when they arrived at the port-of-entry to seek asylum.
4.
With the exception of the large group presentations of asylum seekers, which
12
were executed with the accompaniment of significant media attention, I have frequently
13
observed CBP officers attempting to prevent asylum seekers from accessing the asylum process
14
in violation of their obligations under Title 8 United States Code, Section 1225 and the 1951
15
Refugee Convention. The following are some examples of the obstacles that I have witnessed
16
for asylum seekers attempting to present themselves at a POE in the last several years. These
17
accounts are not comprehensive, but they are illustrative of the barriers that asylum seekers
18
encounter here.
19
5.
For example, on December 23, 2015, I accompanied a Salvadoran family, ABC
20
and his three minor children to the San Ysidro POE. ABC fled El Salvador because of death
21
threats and attempts on both his life, and the life of his then 16-year-old son. ABC was a
22
testifying witness against one of the gangs during the investigation of his coworker’s murder.
23
His teenage son experienced three attempts on his life for refusing to disclose his father’s
24
whereabouts, and refusing to join the gang. These attempts included being stabbed and
25
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
2
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
kidnapped, being shot as he rolled down a hillside after throwing himself off in an effort to
2
escape, and being beaten unconscious and left to die in the street.
3
6.
Upon approaching the POE, I spoke with a CBP officer, indicating that ABC and
4
his family wished to seek asylum. The CBP officer told me that the family could not apply for
5
asylum at the POE, and they had to apply at the consulate. I informed the CBP officer that this
6
was not correct, and that inside the POE there was a line to the far left where asylum seekers
7
lined up, waiting to be processed by officials.
8
7.
The CBP officer then asked me whether I was an attorney. I informed him that I
9
was indeed an attorney. He then inquired whether I was a U.S. licensed attorney or a Mexican
10
attorney. Only when I informed him that I was a U.S. licensed attorney did he allow us to pass
11
through the gate into the building of the POE.
12
8.
During ABC’s processing by CBP, he reported that officers insisted that he
13
disclose the whereabouts of his children’s mother, which he was unable to do. Despite these
14
explanations, CBP officers threatened ABC and told him that if he did not disclose the location
15
of his children’s mother, that his children would wind up in foster care because he would remain
16
detained.
17
9.
On or around December 28, 2015, I accompanied DE, a Honduran mother, and
18
her small child to the San Ysidro POE. DE was also then-pregnant with another child. DE fled
19
Honduras because of brutal domestic violence at the hands of her cartel-connected long-time
20
partner. In addition to subjecting her to years of brutal violence, he also attempted to have her
21
killed by other members of his organization who once pushed her into oncoming traffic.
22
10.
After arriving to the POE, I approached a CBP officer and explained that I was
23
an attorney, and DE wished to apply for asylum. He stated that he was not sure whether she
24
could do that at the POE, and I explained that she could. He then allowed us to pass the gate into
25
the building of the POE.
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
3
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
11.
On February 18, 2016, I accompanied FG, a 15 year old child, to the POE. FG
2
fled El Salvador alone after being threatened several times with death for refusing to join the
3
local clique and help MS-13. FG never knew his father, was abandoned by his mother, and left
4
to live with a grandparent at a very young age. FG was referred to me by Uriel Gonzalez, the
5
director of the Casa YMCA, a shelter for migrant youth in Tijuana. The basis for this referral
6
was because FG had previously tried to turn himself in to CBP on two separate occasions, at
7
both the San Ysidro and Otay POEs and had been turned away and advised that he had to apply
8
for asylum at the local consulate or at the U.S. embassy in El Salvador.
9
12.
I approached a CBP officer with FG and explained that he was an unaccompanied
10
child from El Salvador, and that he was there to present himself for asylum. The CBP officer
11
advised that FG would have to apply for asylum at the consulate. I explained to the CBP officer
12
that I had already brought asylum seekers to the POE before to present themselves, and that I
13
already knew where FG was to wait for a CBP officer to process him.
14
13.
The CBP officer asked whether I was an attorney, and I explained that I was an
15
attorney. He then asked whether FG had a completed asylum application. I advised the officer
16
that we did have a completed I-589. Only after this did he allow us to pass the gate into the
17
building of the POE.
18
14.
On March 17, 2016, I accompanied HI, a Mexican transgender woman to the POE
19
to present herself as an asylum seeker. HI suffers from severe PTSD and a seizure disorder, is
20
the survivor of multiple sexual assaults and domestic violence, and was once a victim of human
21
trafficking. After advising the CBP officer on arrival that HI intended to apply for asylum, we
22
were permitted to pass through the gate to the POE building. I left HI standing in the line with
23
other asylum seekers and assumed that she would be processed several hours later. However, HI
24
was not processed until approximately 36 hours later, during 30 of which HI and other asylum
25
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
4
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
seekers had not been fed. Throughout HI’s entire encounter in the POE she was subject to verbal
2
degradation and abusive language by CBP officers.
3
15.
At the end of May 2016, Tijuana experienced a significant increase in its refugee
4
population, with hundreds of people arriving overnight. This sudden spike in asylum seekers
5
included refugees from countries not typically seen in large numbers at that POE, including Haiti,
6
Sierra Leone, Congo, Cameroon, Bangladesh, Armenia, Ukraine, and Russia, in addition to
7
asylum seekers from southern Mexico and the Northern Triangle. In the weeks following, U.S.
8
and Mexican authorities developed an ad hoc plan to have asylum seekers first “process through
9
the shelters.” This required all asylum seekers to first go to one of the four main migrant shelters
10
in the city, even if they had never been to one, and give their name to be placed on a wait list.
11
Each day Grupo Beta, an arm of Mexican immigration authorities, would ferry asylum seekers
12
to the border in groups, with numerical limits, for processing by CBP.
13
16.
On June 20, 2016, I contacted Casa Migrante, a migrant shelter in Tijuana, to
14
arrange for housing for a Mexican female asylum seeker JK and her daughter. My reason for
15
contacting the shelter, instead of simply accompanying JK and her daughter to the POE was
16
because I was advised by Ms. Viruete, the staff attorney at Casa Migrante, that all asylum seekers
17
had to process through the shelter system, regardless of nationality.
18
17.
Ms. Viruete advised that asylum seekers would be placed on a waiting list, and
19
then taken down to the POE in groups, by Grupo Beta, in order to be processed by CBP. She
20
further advised that these instructions had come to all the shelters housing migrants, and were
21
the result of meetings between CBP officials and Mexican immigration officials after hundreds
22
of asylum seekers arrived at the POE and had been waiting to be processed for several days,
23
creating a humanitarian crisis.
24
25
26
18.
On June 21, 2016, I met my client at Casa Migrante. After escorting her to the
room she would be sharing with other families, I made sure that JK was placed on the “list.” On
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
5
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
June 22, 2016, JK was brought down to the POE and processed by CBP officers. During JK’s
2
processing she was subject to verbal degradation and abuse. Even though JK explained that she
3
was the survivor of a sexual assault, the victim of an international criminal organization, and a
4
material witness for an ongoing FBI investigation (and even possessed a copy of the investigating
5
FBI agent’s business card) she was told by CBP officers that she was “full of shit” and a liar.
6
After telling her story to one officer, he told JK “no mames,” which, in Mexico, is a vulgar way
7
of saying “stop kidding”. I reported JK’s terrible treatment to the FBI victim services
8
coordinator.
9
19.
The system of asylum seekers processing through the shelters was abandoned in
10
the summer of 2016 in favor of a new ticket system. Specifically, CBP officers began directing
11
asylum seekers to obtain a “ticket” from Grupo Beta, in order to seek asylum in the United States.
12
By obtaining a “ticket,” asylum seekers would be given a date, at some time in the future, when
13
the asylum seeker could return to the POE to be processed by U.S. immigration authorities.
14
20.
During this time, construction began at the San Ysidro POE and all asylum seeker
15
processing shifted to the new Pedwest POE. At that time, CBP began refusing to process asylum
16
seekers who showed up at the two other POEs in Tijuana - the old San Ysidro POE and the Otay
17
POE. I am not aware of any legal basis for CBP to limit the processing of asylum seekers to one
18
POE, particularly since for some asylum seekers, any delay in entering U.S. custody could mean
19
the difference of life or death.
20
21.
On August 4, 2016, I accompanied four Guatemalan youth (LM, NO, PQ, RS) to
21
the Pedwest POE. On or about July 20, 2016, they attempted to turn themselves in to CBP
22
officers at both the Otay and San Ysidro POEs, but were denied. Two were under the age of 18
23
years old.
24
25
26
22.
I first attempted to present these youths to CBP officers at the San Ysidro POE. I
was advised by Supervisor Abts that all asylum seekers must first obtain a ticket from Mexican
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
6
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
immigration in order to be seen by CBP officers, even unaccompanied minors. He further
2
advised that processing of asylum seekers was only occurring at the Pedwest POE, a 15 minute
3
walk from the San Ysidro POE, and a nearly 30 minute drive from the Otay POE.
4
23.
At Pedwest POE, I approached CBP Officer Saucedo and advised him that I was
5
an attorney, and that I was presenting unaccompanied minor asylum seekers. Officer Saucedo
6
advised that all asylum seekers, regardless of age, had to obtain a ticket from Mexican
7
immigration authorities, and could not be processed right at that time. I explained that under the
8
Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act, there were specific protocol for processing unaccompanied
9
minors, and that CBP had an obligation to process these asylum seekers in accordance with those
10
regulations. I then requested to speak with a supervisor. A female supervisor arrived, and after
11
explaining the situation to her, she advised Officer Saucedo that unaccompanied minors were
12
not subject to the ticket system, and accepted the children for processing.
13
24.
On August 23, 2016, I held a mini-legal clinic at the office space of the
14
community organization Deported Mothers in Action. There I interviewed two young women
15
from Guatemala. Both were fleeing extortion threats by the gangs in their city. They had
16
attempted to enter the U.S. without inspection, through the mounts, approximately two weeks
17
prior. They were apprehended by CBP, whom they told that they feared return to Guatemala,
18
and their intention to seek asylum. However, neither woman was referred for a credible fear
19
interview. Rather both reported being physically manhandled by CBP officers, and literally
20
tossed back over the fence. One of the women showed me bruises and cuts on her legs from the
21
fall. Neither woman wished to try to seek asylum in the U.S. again after this treatment. Both
22
appeared very afraid.
23
25.
On September 17, 2016, I accompanied VW, a Mexican woman, and her minor
24
child, to the Pedwest POE. I approached the CBP officer and explained that my client was a
25
Mexican citizen, and that I would not have her ask Mexican immigration authorities for
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
7
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
permission to apply for asylum in the United States. The CBP officer allowed my client to pass
2
through into the building of the POE.
3
26.
As I turned to leave the POE, I could see some adult men, and male children lying
4
on the floor outside the gate. I approached them and asked what they were all doing there. It was
5
at this time that members of the group advised me that they were trying to apply for asylum but
6
that no one would talk to them. I immediately inquired of the CBP officer what was going to be
7
done about the people waiting to seek asylum. I was advised that if the men were Mexican, they
8
could stand in the regular pedestrian lane, and wait to be processed. However, if the individuals
9
waiting were from another country, that they would first have to obtain a ticket from Mexican
10
11
immigration authorities.
27.
I then advised the group, which was for the most part Mexican citizens, to get in
12
the pedestrian line and to advise the CBP officer that they wished to seek asylum and wanted a
13
credible fear interview with an asylum office. Two members of the group waiting were from El
14
Salvador. I learned that they were cousins, and one was an unaccompanied minor, and the other
15
was only 18 years old. Concerned for their safety, I explained to the boys that I was an
16
immigration attorney, and if they wished, I would help them for free, and take them to a shelter
17
for migrant youth where they would be safe. They agreed, and from there I drove XY and ZA to
18
Casa YMCA.
19
28.
The boys advised that they had been waiting at the POE for a few hours. They
20
explained that they initially lined up with the other pedestrians and walked through the first gate
21
into the POE without being stopped by a CBP officer. However prior to presenting for admission,
22
the boys were approached by a CBP officer who asked for their documents. The boys explained
23
that they were there to apply for asylum because they faced death threats in El Salvador. Both
24
boys reported that the CBP officer told them that they could not apply for asylum right there,
25
that they had to be put on a list. The boys were advised to go back out the gate of the POE and
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
8
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
wait there until someone came out to speak to them. The boys reported waiting there for almost
2
three hours without any CBP officer acknowledging their existence, despite them laying there in
3
plain view for hours in the hot sun.
4
29.
On October 28, 2016, I spoke on a panel at a binational border rights conference
5
at Colegio de la Frontera in Tijuana. This conference was organized by the Los Angeles County
6
Bar Association. At that conference, Assistant CBP Port Director, Nancy Carrillo, spoke about
7
several matters, and fielded questions from the audience. During this meeting AD Carrillo
8
addressed the “metering” system in Mexico, through which asylum seekers obtained a ticket
9
from Mexican immigration authorities, and unequivocally stated that CBP did not have any
10
11
involvement with the ticketing system.
30.
During the question and answer session of AD Carrillo’s presentation, I raised
12
the issue of CBP officers turning away unaccompanied minors, advising them to obtain tickets
13
from Mexican immigration, in violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Following
14
her talk, I approached her personally to advise her that I had serious concerns regarding human
15
rights violations occurring in the POE, and that I had collected significant data on this issue. I
16
advised her that I could send her this information in writing. She declined to receive such
17
document, and suggested I provide information through a “working group in San Diego.” The
18
gentleman standing next to her, who was also a higher-level official with CBP at the San Ysidro
19
POE (one of two other CBP officers in addition to AD Carrillo in attendance) advised me in
20
passing that he recognized my name “from a lot of paperwork” that I had been filing.
21
31.
On November 15, 2016, I accompanied a Honduran family to the Pedwest POE.
22
The family consisted of three adults (two parents, and a grandmother), FG, HIJ, KL, and FG and
23
HIJ’s three minor children. KL is a senior citizen and mentally ill. The family fled Honduras due
24
to death threats by a gang who had kidnapped and held HIJ hostage for ransom for a week before
25
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
9
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
her escape. The family fled out the back door of their home just as the gang had arrived in front
2
of their house, with cans of gasoline to burn the family alive inside their home
3
32.
At the POE, I spoke with a CBP officer and explained that this family was there
4
to present themselves as asylum seekers. Upon hearing my explanation, the CBP officer at the
5
gate advised that the family would first have to seek a ticket from Mexican immigration, and
6
they could not apply for asylum at that time. I requested to speak with a supervisor. A CBP
7
supervisor then came out to speak with me, and I advised the supervisor that the family was
8
seeking asylum. The CBP supervisor also advised me, as did the officer before; that this family
9
would first need to speak with Mexican immigration authorities and obtain a ticket before they
10
would be permitted to seek asylum from U.S. immigration authorities. I explained to the
11
supervisor that the ticket system was not designed to handle any other nationalities outside the
12
influx of Haitian migrants, and that Mexico was not dispensing tickets to individuals without the
13
appropriate voluntary departure documents, a particular document given to Haitian migrants at
14
the southern border of Mexico. There was back-and-forth discussion with the supervisor before
15
it was finally agreed that CBP would accept this family for processing.
16
33.
On December 10, 2016, I organized a legal clinic to work with asylum seekers
17
who had been identified by local migrant shelters and human rights observers as having been
18
illegally turned away by CBP. At this clinic, volunteer attorneys worked with 8 people: two
19
brothers from El Salvador KL and MN; a Salvadoran couple, OP and her husband QR, and their
20
8 month old baby; a single man from Belize ST; UV, a man from Colombia; and XY, a former
21
policeman from Guatemala. All of these asylum seekers had attempted to present themselves
22
multiple times at the Pedwest POE. All of these asylum seekers were told by CBP that they first
23
had to obtain a ticket from Mexican immigration authorities.
24
25
26
34.
On December 21, 2016, I accompanied UV, a cognitively disabled Mexican man,
to the Pedwest POE. I was contacted regarding UV by his attorney, Nancy Alexander, in the
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
10
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
United States. UV was involved in removal proceedings, was pursuing asylum relief, and had
2
been designated as eligible for Franco-Gonzalez protections by the Immigration Court. UV had
3
wandered into Mexico by accident, and had come to be interned and held against his will in a
4
rehabilitation center. UV had no recollection how he had been committed to this facility, as he
5
does not have a substance abuse problem. After securing UV’s release from the facility, I
6
presented UV to CBP officers at the Pedwest POE. Once again, I spoke with a CBP officer,
7
advising him that UV was a mentally challenged asylum seeker already involved in proceedings
8
in the U.S. I further advised the officer that we had with us court orders from the Immigration
9
Court stating that UV was mentally incompetent, had appointed counsel, and had a hearing date
10
11
in March 2017. A supervisor was called to come speak with us.
35.
A few minutes later, Supervisor Wong approached with approximately four other
12
CBP officers. Supervisor Wong asked why we were at the POE, and I explained to him the same
13
information that I had explained to the previous officer. It was then that Supervisor Wong
14
advised that I was “not in court of law,” and that I had no right to present evidence. He further
15
inquired whether I was a member of the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (AILA),
16
to which I responded that I was not in fact a member. Supervisor Wong explained that CBP and
17
AILA had been having meetings in which “the new policy” had been explained. However, when
18
pressed to discuss what that new policy was, Supervisor Wong merely stated that if I was a
19
member of AILA that I would know the policy. I inquired whether he was referring to the system
20
by which CBP officers were refusing to process asylum seekers without them first obtaining a
21
ticket from Mexican immigration authorities. Supervisor Wong advised that CBP had no
22
involvement in that system and that was not the process to which he was referring, without ever
23
clarifying the procedures asylum seekers were now to follow.
24
25
26
36.
As a Mexican asylum seeker, UV was not even subject to the ticket system. When
Supervisor Wong approached us with four other CBP officers in tow, seemingly in a display of
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
11
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
official intimidation, my client immediately became very afraid as he has impaired cognitive
2
functioning mimicking that of a child. I advised Supervisor Wong that I was aware CBP would
3
not make a final decision on asylum, but that certainly asylum seekers could enter the POE and
4
present themselves as asylum seekers, as I had been accompanying asylum seekers to the POE
5
for a year. It was then that Supervisor Wong looked at me and stated “we know who you are,
6
and what you do.” It became clear to me then that CBP’s responses to me would become more
7
personal and retaliatory as I continued to accompany asylum seekers and demand they be
8
afforded access to the asylum seeker process as laid out in federal law.
9
37.
On December 28, 2016, and on January 4, 2017, I accompanied Attorney Tatyana
10
Edwards to the Pedwest POE with her clients. On each occasion, we accompanied families from
11
the Uzbek Republic, consisting of two parents and two children in each family. On each
12
occasion, upon arriving at the POE, I explained to the front line CBP officer that I was an
13
attorney, there with an asylum seekers and their attorney. On each occasion, the front line CBP
14
officer advised that the family would first have to seek a ticket from Grupo Beta. On each
15
occasion, I requested to speak with a supervisor. On each occasion, after speaking with the
16
supervisor, we were asked whether the asylum seekers had brought with them immigration form
17
G-28 (Notice of Attorney Representation), despite there being no requirement for an asylum
18
seeker to be represented by an attorney to present themselves at the POE. After explaining to
19
each supervisor that these families would be denied the ticket by Grupo Beta because they did
20
not have the appropriate entry or exit documents for Mexico, the asylum seekers were permitted
21
to enter the POE and referred for a credible fear interview.
22
38.
On January 3, 2017, I accompanied WX to the Pedwest POE, along with her three
23
minor children and her nephew. I approached the CBP officer at the front gate and advised that
24
I had a family of Mexican asylum seekers. A supervisor then came out to take the family for
25
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
12
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
processing. I provided the supervisor with the family’s turn-in packets, which clearly stated that
2
they were seeking asylum, and wished to have a credible fear interview with an asylum officer.
3
39.
While waiting for the supervisor to arrive, I observed a CBP officer speaking with
4
a woman clutching papers who appeared to be crying. I then saw the woman walk away. I waved
5
to my paralegal and legal assistant waiting nearby so that they could intercept the woman, and
6
ask if she needed help. Upon leaving the POE, I spoke briefly with this woman, also a female
7
Mexican asylum seeker whose husband had been killed. She explained that the CBP officer at
8
the gate had advised her that Mexicans were no longer getting asylum and that if she persisted
9
in her claim the only result would be that she would be detained for a long time, and deported
10
11
anyway.
40.
Within less than 24 hours, WX and her children were deported. She had no idea
12
where her nephew had been transferred, or whether he would be deported as well. WX contacted
13
me from the office of Mexican Immigration at the Pedwest POE to advise me she was in the
14
process of completing repatriation paperwork. I traveled to the POE and spoke with WX
15
regarding what had transpired. She advised me that CBP officers berated her for several hours,
16
before forcing her to recant her fear of return to Mexico on video. She made repeated requests
17
for counsel which were ignored. Indeed, she was advised that if counsel cared about WX then
18
counsel should have been there (despite the fact that CBP prohibits attorneys’ presence during
19
asylum seeker processing).
20
41.
WX stated that CBP officers informed her that Mexicans did not qualify for
21
asylum, that the practice of accepting Mexican asylum seekers “had ended five years ago.” CBP
22
officers advised WX that if she did not agree to state that she was not afraid on video, she would
23
be banned from the U.S. for life, and never be able to fix her status. She was advised to return to
24
Mexico and apply for a visa. WX reported feeling emotionally beaten down by the CBP officers,
25
such that she felt like the only choice she had to make them stop berating her would be to do
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
13
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
what they were demanding of her. After hearing WX’s account, I brought her back to the POE
2
and requested to speak to a supervisor, advising the front line CBP officer that WX was an
3
asylum seeker who I had brought to the POE the day before, and who had been pressured by
4
CBP officers to recant her fear of return on video. I demanded that she be reprocessed and
5
referred for a credible fear interview. Supervisor Schneider arrived, and I explained the same to
6
her, that WX had been coerced by CBP officers into recanting her fear on video, and that I
7
expected her to be processed and referred for a credible fear interview in accordance with the
8
agency’s obligations under the law. WX was then taken back for processing by Supervisor
9
Schneider.
10
42.
On January 20, 2017, I accompanied four asylum seekers to the Pedwest POE,
11
asylum seekers from El Salvador, 16-year-old, YZ and AB, his father, as well as YZ’s 18 year
12
old cousin CD. This family had fled El Salvador because of threats against their lives by the
13
gang MS13. CD continued to face attempts on his life by MS members sent to hunt him because
14
of his status as the last remaining witness to his sister’s kidnapping. Within a week, her body
15
was found, and since that time all other remaining witnesses had been killed, leaving only CD
16
remaining. In addition, all three Salvadoran asylum seekers had survived a kidnapping in
17
Chiapas, where they were held hostage in a house for one month, with approximately 30 other
18
migrants, and were regularly starved, deprived of sleep, and beaten with fists and objects.
19
43.
On this same date, I presented EF at the POE. EF is 20 year old Mexican woman
20
with a gender-based asylum claim. EF’s asylum claim was based on a similar nucleus of facts as
21
that of her mother, who had received a grant of withholding of removal by an immigration court.
22
Within 24 hours, I received a call from EF stating that she had been deported back to Mexico. I
23
immediately went to the POE and interviewed EF regarding what happened. I later memorialized
24
that interview by producing a video declaration of EF describing what CBP officers had done to
25
her. Specifically, EF reported that CBP officers told her she did not qualify for asylum, that she
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
14
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
did not meet the requirements for “one of the six categories.” She was told by CBP officers that
2
Mexicans did not qualify for asylum. When EF tried to explain to CBP officers that she had an
3
attorney, and she wanted an asylum interview, she was told that if her attorney really cared about
4
EF then she would be present, but since EFs attorney was not present, they would proceed
5
without her. EF was further advised she had no right to an attorney, and that she had no other
6
choice but to recant her fear on video. It took a few takes for EF to be able to state on camera
7
what the CBP officers wanted her to say, i.e. that she no longer feared return to Mexico.
8
44.
After completing EF’s video declaration, I returned with her to the POE, and
9
advised the front line CBP officer that I needed to speak with a supervisor. Shortly thereafter,
10
the chief on shift for the POE on January 21, 2017, came striding over demanding to know the
11
nature of my complaint. It was apparent from the outset that the chief was hostile to my presence
12
with my client. I explained to the shift chief, a tall African American gentleman, what had
13
happened, and demanded that EF be reprocessed, and referred for a credible fear interview with
14
an asylum officer. The shift chief became visibly agitated, and warned me that I had no right to
15
be there presenting clients, that they had to present themselves. I advised him that my presence
16
would not be necessary if the agency would comply with its existing legal obligations with
17
respect to processing of asylum seekers. I advised the shift supervisor that the violations against
18
asylum seekers have already been documented by journalists, including the Washington Post,
19
and that if CBP officers continued to violate the law, I would continue to ensure that these
20
violations were reported. The shift supervisor again told me that I had no right to be presenting
21
asylum seekers, before taking EF back for processing.
22
45.
I have interviewed dozens of other Mexican asylum seeking families who have
23
also been forced to recant their fear of return under similar circumstances on video. All reported
24
being berated for significant periods of time until agreeing to consent to removal, and to
25
recanting on video.
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
15
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
46.
On January 26, 2017, I accompanied Attorney Tatyana Edwards, another male
2
attorney, and Attorney Edward’s client, a Turkish asylum seeker, to the Pedwest POE. This
3
individual fled Turkey after being imprisoned by the government for his political views. His
4
passport, along with his still-valid U.S. visa had been confiscated by his government. Upon
5
arrival to the POE, I spoke with a front line CBP officer and advised him that we were there to
6
present a Turkish asylum seeker. He advised that the asylum seeker would first have to go to
7
Grupo Beta. I requested to speak with a supervisor, explaining that Grupo Beta did not give
8
tickets to individuals present in Mexico on tourist visas, like this particular asylum seeker.
9
47.
Shortly thereafter Supervisor Gomez arrived. She was immediately hostile and
10
ordered the other two attorneys present, the Turkish asylum seeker’s actual legal representative,
11
to either enter the U.S. or to return to Mexico. Both complied with her order, and I was left
12
standing with the asylum seeker. I attempted to explain to Supervisor Gomez the basic facts of
13
this case, that the asylum seeker was a former political prisoner, whose valid U.S. tourist visa
14
had been confiscated by the same government which persecuted him. Supervisor Gomez
15
repeatedly told me, each time louder, that she would not speak with me, and that I had no right
16
to be there. She refused to check the system to determine whether the asylum seeker did in fact
17
have a valid tourist visa (and thus had been pre-vetted). She insisted that the asylum seeker first
18
obtain a ticket from Grupo Beta despite me repeatedly trying to explain to her that this was not
19
possible.
20
48.
It was at this point that the interaction became more threatening. Supervisor
21
Gomez at this point was shouting to the client that I was a liar, and a troublemaker, and that she
22
knew that I had taught the client “how to lie.” She then threatened several times to have me
23
physically removed from the POE by Mexican authorities, Grupo Beta. Because of these threats
24
we left the POE, and I drove the asylum seeker back to his hotel.
25
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
16
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
49.
On February 3, 2017, I presented eight asylum seekers at the POE, a Honduran
2
family consisting of two parents and two children, a Colombian gentleman who had been turned
3
away from the POE two times previously, two Mexican men, and the Turkish gentleman who I
4
had previously attempted to present unsuccessfully. I arrived at the POE with three reporters,
5
four other attorneys, and two other human rights monitors. Upon seeing the crowd, among which
6
several were dressed in professional attire signaling the possibility that they could be attorneys,
7
and noting that press were among us, CBP supervisors took the group in for processing.
8
50.
I chose to present this group of asylum seekers in a group because I now feared
9
for my safety. In addition, I enlisted the support of Amnesty International, who developed a
10
check-in system with me to help ensure for my safety should American authorities again threaten
11
me with arrest by Mexican officials, and should those Mexican officials actually follow through
12
on that threat.
13
51.
On February 5, 2017, I presented a Mexican woman and her two children at the
14
POE to seek asylum. GH had attempted to seek asylum at the POE two times before, the second
15
time the day before on February, 4, 2017, with the assistance of my colleagues Ian Philibaum
16
and Alex Mensing, independent human rights monitors. Despite them presenting GH to CBP,
17
with documents to show she was represented and seeking a credible fear interview, and despite
18
the fact that I emailed these same documents to the designated supervisor email for CBP
19
supervisors at the POE, GH was forced to recant her fear of return to Mexico on video.
20
52.
GH was told that simply, by virtue of her being Mexican, she did not qualify for
21
asylum. She was threatened, that if she did not withdraw her asylum claim, that the "next time
22
she tried" to seek asylum, she would be facing a deportation.
23
53.
When I re-presented GH to the POE on February 5th, I requested to speak with a
24
supervisor. Several minutes later, I spoke with Supervisor DeJesus, and explained that CBP
25
officers had been coercive and verbally abusive with GH, and that she had been removed despite
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
17
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
her request, and my clear written request, that she be referred to an asylum officer for a credible
2
fear interview. Supervisor DeJesus then advised me that they would “take her back and decide
3
what she qualifies for.” I reminded Supervisor DeJesus that making decisions as to eligibility
4
was not within his authority under Title 8 of the United States Code, Section 1225.
5
54.
In March 2017, I began working with two families, one family of five from
6
Guatemala, and one family of four from El Salvador, both of whom had been turned away by
7
CBP when they sought asylum at the port-of-entry. These families later joined the large group
8
presentations of 94 asylum seekers at the San Ysidro POE in May 2017.
9
55.
On the afternoon of April 9, 2017, at approximately 2:00 p.m., I, along with
10
Attorney Seungwon Chung, approached the Pedwest port-of-entry with DS, a Honduran asylum
11
seeker, and her three year old son, DG, a Mexican citizen, who was also seeking asylum with his
12
mother. Upon approaching the gate, Attorney Chung and I informed CBP Sergeant Pacheco that
13
we were present with an asylum seeker who was requesting a credible fear interview with an
14
asylum officer. Sergeant Pacheco asked what country the adult asylum seeker was from, and
15
whether the asylum seeker was a minor. We advised him that the asylum seeker was a mother
16
and child. Sergeant Pacheco advised us to stand to the side of the gate and to wait for a supervisor.
17
56.
Several minutes later Chief Soto approached and engaged Attorney Chung. She
18
explained the purpose of our presence in the port-of-entry, and Chief Soto asked Attorney Chung
19
whether she was aware of the process that she must follow. Attorney Chung advised Chief Soto
20
that she was there to turn in a Honduran asylum seeker. Chief Soto then advised Attorney Sung
21
that the asylum seeker would have to go to INAMI (Mexican Immigration) to be placed on a list
22
and obtain a ticket, and that without this ticket, CBP would not process her.
23
57.
Chief Soto's demeanor was hostile and insistent. He repeated that we needed to
24
follow the rules, however, when presented with the plain language of the statutory language
25
which requires CBP officers to refer asylum seekers for a credible fear interview with an asylum
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
18
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
1
officer, Chief Soto replied "I don't care." We attempted to show Chief Soto written
2
correspondence received by the Mexican National Human Rights Commission, in relation to
3
another asylums seeker's case, in which the Instituto Nacioal de Migracion, officially stated that
4
its agency is not responsible for giving asylum seekers tickets to seek asylum in the United
5
States. Chief Soto refused to read this one-page document. Chief Soto then indicated that he
6
would speak with us no longer, and that we needed to leave. Upon walking away, he advised the
7
other officers who were standing at the gate that they were not to allow us in.
8
9
10
58.
On May 7, 2017, we presented 78 asylum seekers to the port-of-entry as part of
the Viacrucis Refugee Caravan. Of those asylum seekers, 8 family units -- totaling 39 family
members -- were previously turned away by CBP between the months of February and April.
11
59.
Throughout the remainder of 2017 and into 2018, I have continued to present
12
asylum seekers at the POE, and routinely witness the kinds of resistance and obstacles detailed
13
above. In almost every instance in which I have accompanied asylum seekers to the port of entry,
14
CBP officers have attempted to turn them away. These interactions have often required a
15
supervisor to address the matter, and reiterate the refusal. These issues are so prevalent that in
16
July 2017, Al Otro Lado joined with individual asylum seekers to file a lawsuit challenging these
17
practices. That case is pending in the Southern District of California.
18
60.
I understand that some of the recalcitrance that I have encountered with CBP
19
officers may have been a localized practice in the past, but it is also my understanding from my
20
colleagues in other areas of the Southwestern border that CBP officers’ refusal to process asylum
21
seekers who present at regular POE may be developing into a policy across the Southwestern
22
border.
23
24
61.
I have seen crowds of asylum seekers gathered outside the POE due to refusal to
process by CBP for at least the last 7 months. Since the announcement in April 2018 by Attorney
25
26
DECLARATION OF
NICOLE ELIZABETH RAMOS
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
19
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
206-464-7744
Exhibit 4
1
2
3
4
5
6'
7
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
8
STATE OF WASHINGTON, et al.,
NO. 2:18-CV-00939
9
Plaintiff,
10
DECLARATION OF OLIVIA
CACERES IN SUPPORT OF
PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR
EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
V.
11
12
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et
al.,
13
Defendants.
14
I, Olivia Caceres, declare as follows:
15
1.
I am over the age of 18 and have personal knowledge of the facts herein. If called
16
as a witness, I could and would testify competently to the matters set forth below.
17
2.
My partner J. and I have two children, M. who was born in August 2016 and A.
18
who was born in May 2013.
19
3.
On October 8, 2017, my family and I left El Salvador to seek asylum in the United
20
States. We traveled with a caravan of more than 230 persons, with the goal of presenting
21
ourselves at a United States point of entry and seeking asylum.
22
4.
As we traveled through Mexico, my youngest son, M., became ill. Due to M.'s
23
illness and that we did not have enough money for the bus ticket to travel to Tijuana, Mexico,
24
my partner and I decided to split up in the last part of the trip to reach Tijuana. We were
25
concerned about M.'s health because he was only 14 months old and we wanted him to reach a
26
DECLARATION OF OLIVIA CACERES
IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION
FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
I
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
1300 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-9555
I
safe place as soon as possible. Because my eldest son A. wanted to stay with me, J. went ahead
2
with M. Before J. left with M., I made sure he was carrying his original identification and M.'s
3
original birth certificate.
4
5.
On November 12, 2017, before J. presented himself at the San Ysidro point of
5
entry, I spoke with him. I confirmed that he was carrying his identification and M.'s birth
6
certificate and that the attorneys from Pueblo Sin Fronteras had made copies of the documents.
7
8
9
6.
On November 12, 2017 J., along with other caravan families, presented himself
at the San Ysidro point of entry with M. Two days later, I arrived in Tijuana with A.
7.
On November 16, 2017, I learned from other members of the caravan who crossed
10
successfully the border that immigration officers took M. from J. I felt as if someone had
11
dumped a bucket of cold water on me. I was very angry at J. for letting someone take the child
12
away from him.
13
8.
When I was able to speak with J. he was very desperate and anxious and told me
14
that there was nothing he could have done to keep M. because the immigration agents threatened
15
to use force to take M. away if he did not give him up. J. did not know where M. was or why
16
they took him away from him.
17
9.
1 was desperate to find M. With the help of Pueblo Sin Fronteras I was able to
18
obtain phone numbers for ICE and shelters where U.S. authorities keep immigrant children. I
19
was never able to get a response from the ICE number. I called the shelters three times a day and
20
at first they told me that M. was not in the system.
21
10.
Finally, after 7 days of desperately searching for M. I was able to locate him in a
22
shelter in Los Fresnos, Texas. While the person in the shelter confirmed that M. was there, he/she
23
did not give me more information or let me speak to M. until my attorney sent documents
24
verifying that he was my son.
25
11.
Through my attorney I sent copies of M.'s birth certificate, the footprints of when
26 1 he was born, and copies of J.'s and my identification cards and birth certificates.
DECLARATION OF OLIVIA CACERES
IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION
FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
2
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE CALIFORNIA
13300 0 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-9555
1
12.
After 10 to 12 days I was finally able to speak with M. by video -- it was only for
2
5 minutes two times a week. During the first 3 or 4 calls M. would look around to find me in the
3
room where he was and did not see me on the phone.
4
13.
The agency would not release him to me. They were not satisfied with my birth
5
certificate because it did not look the same as M.'s so I had to request a new copy from El
6
Salvador which took almost a week to get.
7
14.
Then they asked J. and me to interview with the Salvadoran consulate. I
8
understand that J. was interviewed by video in December 2017, but M. was not released or
9
reunited with J.
10
15.
On December 28, 2017, 1 presented myself at the San Ysidro point of entry with
11
my son A. and sought asylum. We were held in the iceboxes. While 1 was there, I witnessed two
12
mothers being separated from their children. The mothers were taken to their interviews.
13
Meanwhile, officers arrived with the kids' birth certificates and called their names. The kids
14
looked scared and did not know what to do but went with the officers. When the mothers finished
15
their interviews, the officers took them to a different room. At that point the children were outside
16
and the mothers saw them, but they could not talk to them. Although one of the mothers was in
17
a room where I could not hear her, I saw her crying and screaming for her children. The children
18
were also crying and looked paralyzed.
19
20
21
22
23
16. On January 1, 2018, A. and I were released from immigration custody. I was required
to wear an ankle monitor for a few months.
17.
In early January I was interviewed by the Salvadoran consulate. Although we had
provided all the information requested from us, I was still unable to get M. back.
18.
The last requirement was for me to undergo a DNA test to confirm that I was
24
M.'s mother At that point, my attorney threatened to file a suit because each time we provided
25
the required information they kept asking for more and more proof.
26
DECLARATION OF OLIVIA CACERES
IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION
FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
3
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE CALIFORNIA
13300 0 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-9555
1
19.
Finally, on February 7, 2018, I received a call indicating that M. would arrive at
2
the Los Angeles airport the next day. On February 8, 2018, after 85 days, I went to the Los
3
Angeles airport, showed my identification, signed some documents and they returned M. to me.
4
20.
M. looked scared, he looked absent, he did not seem to capture that he was with
5
me. He would only stare. When we got to the car, M. started crying and screaming. He seemed
6
really scared. He continued to cry when we got home and would hold on to my leg and would
7
not let me go.
8
9
10
21.
When I took off his clothes he was full of dirt and lice. It seemed like they had
not bathed him the 85 days he was away from us.
22.
I cannot forget the first night after we were reunited. He cried the moment we got
11
to the bed and refused to sleep. He finally fell asleep from exhaustion but he only slept on my
12
chest. When I tried to put him on the bed he would cry again.
13
23.
During the first few days after we were reunited, when I would tell him not to
14
touch things around the house because he was going to break them he would run and hide in a
15
corner. He seemed very afraid.
16
24.
One day when we were returning home, I found some magazines in the mailbox,
17
I rolled them up and put them under my arm. When M. saw what I was doing he immediately
18
started crying and did not stop until I put the magazines away. His reaction makes me think he
19
was abused in the shelter.
20
25.
M. is not the same since we were reunited. I thought that, because he is so young
21
he would not be traumatized by this experience, but he does not separate from me. He cries when
22
he does not see me. That behavior is not normal. In El Salvador he would stay with his dad or
23
my sister and not cry. Now he cries for fear of being alone.
24
25
26.
Our family separation has also affected my son A. He asks me why we left M.
alone. He is scared every time he sees a police car. Although he is attending a summer camp, he
26 1 cries and is scared. He does not want to play with other kids or want to make friends.
DECLARATION OF OLIVIA CACERES
IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION
FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
4
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE CALIFORNIA
13300 0 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-9555
Before I was reunited with M., I could not sleep, I had headaches and I did not
1
27.
2
feel comfortable.
3
28.
4
J. is still detained and, although we have tried to visit him twice, we have not been
allowed to do so. His detention is causing our family more stress.
5
6
7
8
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California and the laws
of the United States that the foregoing is true and correct.
Dated this 28th day of June 2018 in Santa Monica, California.
9
10
OLIVIA CACERES
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF OLIVIA CACERES
IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION
FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
5
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE of CALIFORNIA
1300 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-9555
1
CERTIFICATION OF TRANSLATION
2
3
Manuel Duran, a translator certified by the Judicial Council of California and the Office
of Federal Courts, certifies that he translated/transcribed completely and accurately, and to the
best of his ability the English translation of the following Spanish document(s):
4
NO. 2:18-CV-00939
5
6
7
DECLARATION OF OLIVIA CACERES IN SUPPORT
OF CLAIMANTS' MOTION FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
I swear under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Signed on June 29, 2018
in Oceanside, California.
8
9
10
CALIFORNIA
JUDICIAL COUNCIL
11
CERTIFICATION 300344
June 29, 2018
12
IIAT~
AT
~
►.~.
v~~
Manuel Duran
California Certification No. 300344
Federal Court Certification No. 93-462
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF OLIVIA CACERES
IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION
FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
6
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE cA
IA
13300 0 I Sttreet
reet
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-9555
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
8
STATE OF WASHINGTON, et al.,
NO. 2:18-CV-00939
9
DECLARACI6N DE OLIVIA
CACERES APOYANDO PETICION
DE LOS DEMANDANTES PARA
EXHIBICI6N DE PRUEBAS
ACELERADA
Plaintiff,
10
V.
11
12
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et
al.,
13
Defendants.
14
Yo, Olivia Caceres, declaro to siguiente:
15
1.
Tengo mas de 18 anos de edad y tengo conocimiento personal de los hechos en
16
este documento. Si se me Namara como testigo, podria y testificaria de manera competente a las
17
cuestiones que se exponen a continuaci6n.
18
2.
Mi pareja J. y yo tenemos dos niiios, M. quien nacio en agosto de 2016 y A. quien
19
naci6 en mayo de 2013.
20
3.
El 8 de octubre de 2017, mi familia y yo salimos de El Salvador para pedir asilo
21
en los Estados Unidos. Viajamos con una caravana de mas de 230 personas, con la meta de
22
presentarnos en un punto de entrada de los Estados Unidos y pedir asilo.
23
4.
Mientras viajabamos por Mexico, mi hijo menor, M., se enferm6. Debido a la
24
enfermedad de M. y que no teniamos suficiente dinero para el pasaje de autobus para viajar a
25
Tijuana, Mexico, mi pareja y yo decidimos separarnos en la ultima parte del viaje para Ilegar a
26
DECLARATION OF OLIVIA CACERES
IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR
EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
I
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE CALIFORNIA
13300 0 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-9555
I
Tijuana. Estabamos preocupados por la salud de M. porque solo tenia 14 meses de edad y
2
queriamos que Ilegara a un lugar seguro los mas pronto posible. Porque mi hijo mayor A. se
3
queria quedar conmigo, J. se fue adelante con M. Antes de que J. se fuera con M., me asegur6
4
que llevara su identificaci6n original y el acta de nacimiento original de M.
5
5.
El 12 de noviembre de 2017, antes de que J. se presentara en el punto de entrada
Yo confirm6 que
llevaba su identificaci6n y el acta de
6
en San Ysidro yo habl6 con
7
nacimiento de M. y que los abogados de Pueblo Sin Fronteras habian tomado copias de los
8
documentos.
9
6.
el.
el
El 12 de noviembre de 2017 J., junto a otras familias de la caravana, se
10
presentaron en el punto de entrada en San Ysidro con M. Dos dias despu6s yo llegu6 a Tijuana
11
con A.
12
7.
El 16 de noviembre de 2017, yo me enter6 por medio de otros miembros de la
13
caravana que habian cruzado la frontera exitosamente que a J. oficiales de inmigraci6n le habian
14
quitado a M. Yo senti como si me habian tirado una cubeta de agua fria. Estaba muy enojada
15
con J. por dejar que alguien le quitara al nilio.
16
8.
Cuando al fin pule hablar con J. el estaba muy desesperado y ansioso y me dijo
17
que no habia nada que el pudiera haber hecho para quedarse con M. porque los oficiales de
18
mmigracion to amenazaron con usar fuerza para quitarle a M. si no se los entregaba. J. no sabia
19
donde estaba M. o porque se to quitaron.
20
9.
Yo estaba desesperada por encontrar a M. Con la ayuda de Pueblo Sin Fronteras
21
pude obtener los numeros de tel6fono de ICE y albergues donde autoridades de los Estados
22
Unidos mantienen a ninos inmigrantes. Nunca obtuve una respuesta del numero de ICE. Yo
23
llamaba a los albergues tres veces al dia y al principio me dijeron que M. no estaba en el sistema.
24
25
10.
Finalmente, despu6s de 7 dias de buscar a M. desesperadamente pude localizarlo
en un albergue en Los Fresnos, Tejas. Mientras que la persona en el albergue me confirm6 que
26
DECLARATION OF OLIVIA CACERES
IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR
EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
2
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE of CALIFORNIA
1300 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-9555
I
M. estaba ahi no me dio mas informaci6n ni me dejo que hablara con M. hasta que mi abogada
2
enviara documentos verificando que era mi hijo.
3
4
5
11.
Por medio de mi abogada envie copias del acta de nacimiento de M., las huellas
de los pies de cuando naci6, y copias de las identificaciones y actas de nacimiento de J. y mias.
12.
Despues de 10 a 12 dfas finalmente pude hablar con M. por video — solo fue por
6
5 minutos dos veces por semana. Durante las primeras 3 o 4 llamadas M. me buscaba en el
7
cuarto donde el estaba y no me vefa en el tel6fono.
8
9
10
11
13.
La agencia no me to entregaba. No estaban satisfechos con mi acta de nacimiento
porque no se parecia a la de M. asf es que tuve que pedir una copia nueva de El Salvador que
tomb casi una semana para obtener.
14.
Despues nos pidieron a J. y a mf que nos entrevistaramos con el consulado de El
12
Salvador. Tengo entendido que J. fue entrevistado por video en diciembre de 2017, pero M. no
13
sali6 ni to reunieron con J.
14
15.
En diciembre 28 de 2017, yo me presente en el punto de entrada de San Ysidro
15
con mi hijo A. y pedi asilo. Nos tuvieron detenidos en las hieleras. Mientras que estuve ahi, yo
16
fui testigo de dos madres quienes fueron separadas de sus ninos. Las madres fueron llevadas a
17
sus entrevistas. Mientras tanto, oficiales llegaron con las actas de nacimiento de los ninos y
18
llamaron sus nombres. Los ninos se veian asustados y no sabian que hacer, pero se fueron con
19
los oficiales. Cuando las madres terminaron sus entrevistas, los oficiales se las llevaron a un
20
cuarto diferente. En ese momento los ninos estaban afuera y las madres los veian, pero no podfan
21
hablar con ellos. Aunque una de las madres estaba en un cuarto donde no la podia escuchar yo
22
la veia llorando y gritando por sus ninos. Los ninos tambi6n estaban llorando y se veian
23
paralizados.
24
25
16.
El 1 de enero de 2018, A. y yo salimos de custodia migratoria. A mf se me
requiri6 que tuviera un monitor en el tobillo por unos meses.
26
DECLARATION OF OLIVIA CACERES
IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR
EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
3
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE CALIFORNIA
13300 0 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-9555
1
A principios de enero fui entrevistada por el consulado de El Salvador. Aunque
17.
2
habiamos proporcionado toda la inform'aci6n que nos habian pedido todavia no podia recuperar
3
a M.
4
El ultimo requisito fue que yo me sometiera una prueba de ADN para confirmar
18.
5
que yo era la madre de M. En ese momento, mi abogada amenaz6 con entablar una demanda
6
legal porque cada vez que proporcionabamos la informaci6n requerida nos seguian pidiendo mas
7
y mas pruebas.
8
19.
Finalmente, el 7 de febrero de 2018 recibi una llamada donde me dijeron que M.
9
llegaria al aeropuerto de Los Angeles el pr6ximo dia. El 8 de febrero de 2018, despues de 85
10
dias, fui al aeropuerto de Los Angeles, present6 mi identificaci6n, firm6 unos documentos y me
11
regresaron a M.
12
20.
M. se veia con miedo, se miraba ausente, no parecia capturar que estaba conmigo.
13
Nada mas se quedaba viendo. Cuando llegamos al carro M. empez6 a Ilorar y gritar. Se veia
14
con mucho miedo. Sigui6 llorando cuando llegamos a la casa, se agarraba de mi pierna y no me
15
dejaba ir.
16
17
18
21.
Cuando le quite la ropa estaba Reno de tierra y piojos. Parecia que no to habian
bafiado los 85 dias que no estuvo con nosotros.
22.
No puedo oividar esa primera noche despues de que nos reunimos. El empez6 a
19
Ilorar al momento que llegamos a la cama y no se queria dormir. Al fin se durmi6 de cansancio,
20
pero solo durmi6 en mi pecho. Cuando yo trataba de ponerlo en la cama el lloraba otra vez.
21
23.
Durante los primeros dias despues de reuniros cuando le decia que no tocara
22
cosas en la casa porque las iba a quebrar el corria y se escondia en una esquina. Parecia tener
23
mucho miedo.
24
25
24.
Un dia cuando regresabamos a casa, encontr6 unas revistas en el buz6n, las
enroll6 y me las puse debajo del brazo. Inmediatamente cuando M. vio to que estaba haciendo
26
DECLARATION OF OLIVIA CACERES
IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR
EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
4
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE CALIFORNIA
13300 0 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-9555
1
se puso a llorar y no par6 hasty que guardd las revistas. Su reacei6n me pace pensar cute fue
?
abusado en el alber(Iue.
25.
M. no es igual desde que nos volvimos a reunir. Yo pensaba que, porque esta
4
pequeno no iba a estar traumatizado por esta experiencia, peso no se separa de mi. E1 Mora
5
cuando no me ve. Ese comportamiento no es normal. En El Salvador- 61 se quedaba con su
6
papa o mi hermana y no lloraba. Ahora llora por miedo a estar solo.
7
26.
La separaci6n de nuestra falnilia tambi6n ha afectado a Ini liijo A. E1 me
8
pregunta porque dejamos solo a M. Se asusta cada vcz que ve Lin carro de policia. Aunque
9
esta asistierido a un catnpalnento de verano, 61 Mora y esta asustado. No quiere jugar con otros
10
11
12
11
14
ninos ni quiere pacer amigos.
27.
Antes de reunirnos con M., yo no podia dormir, tenia dolores de cabeza y no me
sentia a gusto.
28.
.1. todavia esta detenido y aunque hemos intentado visitarlo dos veces no nos to
han permitido. Su detenci6n esta causando mas estrds a nuestra familia.
15
16
17
18
Declaro bajo pena de perjurio Najo las leyes del Estado de California y las leyes de los
Estados Unidos que to anterior es verdadero y correcto.
Fechado este 28 dia de junio de 2018 en Santa M6nica, California.
19
f)
r
I
20
~
OLIVIA ' . ,RES
21
23
24
)5
26
DECLARATION OF OUVIA CACERES
IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR
EXPEDITED DISCOVERY
5
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
sTATEOFCALFORNIA
1300 I Street
Sacramento, CA95814
916-445-9555
Exhibit 5
Exhibit 6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
STATE OF WASHINGTON, et al.
Plaintiffs,
v.
Civil Action No.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et al.
Defendants.
DECLARATION OF ANGELICA GONZALEZ-GARCIA
1. My name is Angelica Rebeca Gonzalez-Garcia.
2. I am 31 years old. I have an eight-year old daughter, S.K., who is currently being held
away from my custody in a town called Harlingen, Texas. I have not seen her since May
11, 2018 and this hurts me deeply considering we have always slept in the same bedroom
since the day she was born.
3. I came to the United States via Arizona on May 9,2018 after leaving my country on
April 26, 2018.
4. My daughter and I were fleeing Guatemala for many reasons, including abuse, domestic
violence and discrimination against me and, consequently, my daughter. When I felt I
could no longer live safely in my country, I left Guatemala.
5. I have no family in the United States, all of my family lives in Guatemala.
6. I was previously married in Guatemala. My husband was abusive to me and he is part of
the reason I fled. When I fled, I had almost completed the process of divorce but could
not pay the last filing fee.
1
7. When I first arrived near the border of the United States, I saw a group of other people
who were also looking to find a way into the United States. Someone had told me to
walk through a field with tall grass. I did that and saw a fence/wall type structure. I was
able to go underneath that structure with my daughter. One person, who entered at the
same time as I did, fell from the structure and broke her leg.
8. Shortly after entry into the United States, I would say about 40 meters into the United
States, I was surrounded by what I now know to be Border Patrol officers.
Approximately three cars surrounded us. The officers instructed my daughter and me to
take off our jewelry, socks and shoes and laces. We complied.
9. The officers placed my daughter and me in the back of a pick-up truck. They drove us
about Vi hour until we reached a stopping point. More people entered the car. The
Officers then switched us to another car. The second drive took about 45 minutes or so.
10. When we arrived at the second stop, I was placed in a room with windows and cement
floors. My understanding is this facility was in Arizona. Approximately 30-40 women
and children stayed in this room. We had one mattress that four people had to sleep on,
including my daughter and me. The locked room had a toilet and walls. The toilet had a
partial wall and people laying on the floor could see. My daughter felt embarrassed to
pee in that room with all those people. The guards were mostly men and could monitor
the room through the windows, as well as enter and exit the room with a key. Although
we left with clothes in a bag, the Officers took the clothes. When we were left in the
room we were told not to complain or bang on the walls because we would be there for
"four days at most" and that I would then be deported.
2
11. On May 10, 2018, the day after our arrest, Officers came into the room and told me that
they intended to take my daughter away from me. The Officers told us that the law with
minors was "done" and again said 1 was going to be deported. Most devastating of all,
the Officers said 1 would never see my daughter again. When the Officers told me this, 1
felt like collapsing and dying. I cannot express the pain and fear I felt at that point. My
daughter was only seven years old and she was much too young to be taken from me.
When I asked why the Officers said that I had "endangered" her by bringing her here.
They told me to sign a consent form to take my daughter, but that it did not matter
whether or not I signed, because they were going to take her either way.
12. The officer came into the cell and called my daughter and me into the big office space.
They told me that if I did not sign the paper they would still take my daughter from me,
and they also said it would be worst for me. During this same conversation one of the
officers asked me "In Guatemala do they celebrate mother's day?" When I answered yes
he said, "then Happy Mother's Day" because the next Sunday was Mother's day. I
lowered my head so that my daughter would not see the tears forming in my eyes. That
particular act of cruelty astonished me then as it does now. I could not understand why
they hated me so much, or wanted to hurt me so much.
13. The next morning, at five a.m., the Officers made me bathe my daughter and put
oversized clothes on her, as well as put a ponytail in her hair. We were in a trailer-like
vehicle with three shower stalls. My daughter and 1 were in one and there was another
mother with her child in another stall. My body was shaking and I felt like dying.
Instead, I tried to be strong for my daughter. I even remember trying to laugh so my
daughter would not be scared. I told her that she did not need to cry and that it would
3
only be a couple of days that they would take her. I dressed her in the stall and then there
was a little room where I brushed her hair.
14. We waited in that room until all of the kids had been bathed, and then they took all of us
into a big office room. Then they told us that would be as far as we would go with our
children and they made all of the children stand in a straight line. All of the kids were
given the same jacket, pants, and oversized shirt to wear. The uniforms were dark blue
but had no identifying information such as a number or facility name. The youngest child
in line was about 5 years old and the oldest was about 12 years old. There were
approximately 10 kids and the youngest ones were crying. My daughter looked like she
wanted to cry; I held back my tears so she would not. I had no idea where they were
taking her, they only told me they were going to take her to a shelter. The children were
lead out of the building in a single line. All of the mothers were told to return to their
cells. Only two women from my cell were separated from their children. We sat next to
each other in the cell and cried together and asked God to give us strength.
15.1 still cannot stop crying over this incident. Nothing can prepare a person for the pain of
watching their child be forcibly removed from them. Heart wrenching and devastating
are the only words I have. It is not clear that I can recover fully from this incident.
16. After they took my daughter from me, I immediately started looking for her. When I
asked where they had taken my daughter, the guards told me there were many shelters
and they did not know where she would end up. I put in request slips to the guards at the
facility I was in and did not hear back. I was moved from that facility to another facility
on May 16, 2018.
4
17. On May 18, 2018,1 was moved to a facility in Colorado. The whole time I searched for
my daughter. I cannot remember how many request slips I put in, but I recall filing
many. The day 1 arrived to the facility in Colorado they did a medical check-up and asked
me a lot of questions. I told them that I thought I was going to go crazy if I would have to
be separated from my daughter for a long time. I told them I had trouble sleeping, I was
crying a lot, and not eating. The next day they took me to see a psychologist. The
psychologist asked me if I wanted to kill someone and I said no. Then they asked me if I
was going to take my own life or hurt someone and I said no. I repeatedly told them I just
wanted my daughter returned to me. I wanted to know about her and I wanted to hear her
voice and know that she was okay.
18. One of the request slips I placed was on May 24, 2018. After I filed that May 24, 2018
slip, I gathered enough money to call home to Guatemala. When I called home, I learned
that a shelter in Texas had called about my daughter. This was the first time I heard
about my daughter's location. I believe 1 finally spoke to my daughter around May 26th
or 27th. This call gave me such joy. I was so relieved to know they had not deported my
daughter.
19. Since the day she was taken away from me, I have only spoken to my daughter five
times. Three times, I was allowed a video link conversation and twice by phone. The
rule at the shelter is I can call Tuesdays and Saturdays. However, the phone number I
have only sends me to a phone manned by a person named Julian. Sometimes, when I
call, Julian does not answer. Sometimes they cannot locate my daughter. I just cannot
bear the pain of never speaking with my daughter. She is my only child and I miss her
terribly.
5
20. My daughter is not happy in this shelter. First, she just wanted to be with me. Then she
told me she had been sick with both a cough and a fever. She also told me that a boy had
i
hit her in the head and she had a bruise as a result of the assault. She also told me that she
has a problem with her eye which she was told was conjunctivitis, and that because of
this she is being isolated from the other children in detention.
21. My daughter's 8th birthday passed in the shelter. I could hear the pain in her voice when
she told me how upset she was to spend her birthday away from me Most often, my
daughter simply asks when she is going to see me again. It breaks my heart and I don't
know what to tell her.
22. One thing my daughter always asks me is "can I have pizza mommy?" 1 promised her,
when I found her again, I would buy her a pizza all for herself.
23. After weeks in detention, I was finally able to complete asylum forms and I saw an
immigration Judge on June 18, 2018 and was released the following day. I have
continued to try to get my daughter back ever since I know my daughter at least takes
comfort from the fact that I have been released from custody, but more than anything, she
just wants to be with me. While in Jail, and still today, I have had trouble sleeping
knowing my daughter could not be protected by me.
24. After I was released, I flew to Massachusetts because 1 had a friend from my town in
Guatemala who said he would help me. My friend picked me up from the airport in
Boston early in the morning on Wednesday, June 20, 2018 and brought me to
Framingham, Massachusetts. In Framingham, I connected with a local advocacy
organization that helped me find a lawyer and other community resources.
6
25. This past Friday, June 22, 2018,1 was finally able to get through to someone at the
shelter, but learned that the only way for S.K. to be returned to me was to submit a
"reunification packet request" to the shelter in order to be qualified as a "sponsor" of my
own daughter. The package was about 36 pages and someone had to help me fill it out. I
am lucky that someone helped me.
26. On Sunday, June 24, 2018, an advocate from a local immigrant's rights organization
obtained an attorney for me.
27. When the Attorney and I called the shelter, we were told we could not get help because
"it was the weekend." This felt very frustrating to me, as my daughter and I had not seen
each other in person since May 11, 2018.
28. After further calls, I have learned that in order to get my daughter back, I and every
person in the house where I am staying will have to travel to New Jersey to provide
fingerprints, and the government will only allow this to occur on July 16, 2018. Before
they spoke to the Attorney, they told me that I could not have prints until July 31, 2018. I
don't understand this because my fingerprints were taken when I was arrested at the
border. We have tried to offer to send these fingerprints more quickly by sending them
through organizations in Massachusetts, but those requests have been refused.
29.1 feel terrible that my daughter remains alone, sick, and scared in the shelter for more
weeks.
30. This delay is going to be extremely difficult for me and for my daughter, and I can't
understand why the government won't recognize that 1 am her mother and release her to
me.
7
31.1 plan to stay in Massachusetts and hope to work to support my family once I get
permission.
32.1 would like my daughter to come to Massachusetts to live with me. I feel like I'm
developing a support network for us here.
33. Once my daughter is in Massachusetts, I plan to enroll her in school in Framingham.
Though I worry that it will be difficult for my daughter to leave my side and feel safe at
school, I want her to get an education.
34.1 also will make sure she gets the care that she needs for her psychological and physical
health. I need to see my daughter to determine whether she needs mental health services
because of the separation. I know she has received counseling at the shelter because she
was crying so much.
8
Signed under pains and penalties for perjury, this 2^ day of June, 2018.
ANGELICA REBECA GONZALEZ-GARCIA
I,
W>
certify that I am a disinterested adult competent to interpret
from Spanish to English and that I interpreted the above-referenced document from English to
Spanish for the above-referenced affiant.
Signed under pains and penalties for perjury, this __ day of June, 2018.
DIEGO LOW
9
Exhibit 7
1
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
2
3
4
5
STATE OF WASHINGTON, et al.
6
7
Plaintiffs,
v.
8
9
10
NO. 2:18-CV-00939-MJP
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et al.
Defendants.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF ELMER OLIVA AND LUDIN JIMENEZ
1
2
We hereby declare that we, Elmer Oliva and Ludin Jimenez, with our minor children,
E.O., who is 17 years of age, and K.O., who is 9 years of age:
3
1.
4
herein expressed.
5
2.
Elmer, Ludin, E.O., and K.O. are Guatemalan citizens.
6
3.
Elmer fled from Guatemala fearing for his life, after several members of his
We are both over the age of 18, and we have personal knowledge of the facts
7
family were murdered. He arrived to the United States two years ago, seeking asylum. Since
8
then, he has lived in Westboro, Massachusetts.
9
4.
When Elmer left Guatemala, he had to leave his wife Ludin Jimenez, and his
10
children behind. Eventually, in May 2018, Ludin fled Guatemala with her children, after being
11
threatened with kidnapping and violence.
12
5.
Ludin crossed the border with her children at McAllen, Texas, looking for a place
13
to seek asylum. They were detained by immigration officers, and taken to a detention center.
14
Ludin was not charged with any crime. She never saw a judge, nor went to court.
15
6.
At the detention center, officers told Ludin that she was to be separated from her
16
children. She was told that she would be deported, and that her children would be put up for
17
adoption. Ludin begged to not be separated from her children, and tried to explain to the officers
18
that they were fleeing violence in Guatemala. Her daughter was crying.
19
7.
Afterwards, the immigration officers took Ludin to a place called “the dog pound”
20
without her children. There, Ludin was kept in a cell, with nearly fifty other mothers. The officers
21
told them that they could not eat because they were asking about their children. There was a
22
pregnant woman who fainted from hunger. The immigration officers took this woman to a clinic.
23
8.
One immigration officer told Ludin, “how a drop of water destroyed a country.”
24
9.
The officers insulted Ludin and the other women in the cage. They called them
25
names, and told them they were stupid when they asked about their children.
26
1
1
10.
There was an immigration officer who was a good person. He said that he
2
understood what was going on, but could not help. He brought them cookies, since he knew they
3
did not get enough to eat.
4
5
11.
Ludin was not allowed to bathe or brush her teeth for the eight days that she spent
in the “dog pound.”
6
12.
Afterwards, they took Ludin to another detention center, in Laredo, Texas. There,
7
they said she could bathe, they were going to give Ludin a telephone card with 3 minutes to call.
8
Ludin called Elmer, who said he had spoken to their children, and that they were in Michigan.
9
13.
Ludin was afraid to ask about her children, so she asked an officer when she could
10
see a judge in court. The officer said they were investigating Ludin and Elmer, and that she must
11
be patient.
12
14.
After nine or ten days, they took Ludin to another detention center, in Taylor,
15.
In Taylor, Ludin was finally able to speak to her children, after being separated
13
14
15
16
Texas.
from them for 21 days.
16.
Ludin contacted someone in Catholic Charities in Taylor, Texas. Two days after
17
speaking to the person from Catholic Charities, Ludin was able to obtain an interview of credible
18
fear, and was granted freedom under a bail of $1,500.
19
17.
After leaving the detention center in McAllen, E.O. and K.O. were taken to
20
another detention center. They separated E.O. and K.O. in different cells, one in front of the
21
other. Even though E.O. was able to see his sister, when he tried talking to her, the immigration
22
officers yelled at him.
23
24
18.
In the Texas center, there were two year old children in the same cages as older
children.
25
26
2
1
19.
An immigration officer told E.O. that he knew that he was over 17 years of age,
2
and that his birth certificate was a fake. When E.O. insisted that he was 17, the officers kicked
3
him.
4
20.
5
to take a shower.
6
21.
Once, they awoke K.O. in the early morning, pulling his hair, and saying he had
K.O. and E.O. did not have shoes or blankets in the detention center, and there
7
were people in the cells that had to sleep standing up. They did not have enough to eat either,
8
and could not drink the water, because of the chlorine they added to it.
9
10
11
12
22.
E.O. and the incarcerated children were insulted - called named such as “animals”
and “donkeys.”
23.
They took E.O. and K.O. to Michigan in an airplane, but upon arriving Michigan
they were separated. They took E.O. to a shelter, whereas K.O. went to a foster home.
13
24.
In the Michigan shelter, the children could speak to Elmer several times per week.
14
25.
After 21 days of separation from their mother, finally E.O. and K.O. were able to
15
speak to their mother on the phone. K.O. was so sad after this first call that the shelter officers
16
took E.O. to a place to comfort his little sister.
17
26.
After filling a lot of forms, the shelter allowed Elmer to meet his children in
18
Massachusetts. They flew to Boston from Michigan on June 19th, 2018; after five weeks of
19
separation.
20
27.
21
22
23
24
25
On June 28th, 2018, Elmer, E.O. and K.O. met with Ludin at the Boston airport,
after more than six weeks of separation.
28.
Elmer is going to enroll E.O. and K.O. in the Westboro Public Schools, in
Massachusetts.
29.
Elmer and Ludin are working to find medical attention for the family. They think
that K.O., in particular, needs to see a psychologist.
26
3
1
We declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States of America that the
2
aforementioned is true and correct.
3
4
Given on the _____ day of the month of June of 2018, in Boston, Massachusetts.
5
6
ELMER OLIVA
7
8
9
10
LUDIN JIMENEZ
11
With our minor children, E.O. and K.O.
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
4
EXHIBIT A
1
2
Nosotros, Elmer Oliva, y Ludin Jimenez, con nuestros hijos menores, E.O., quien tiene
17 anos, y K.O., quien tiene 9 anos, declaramos lo siguiente:
3
4
1.
Ambos tenemos mas que 18 anos y uno o ambos tenemos conocimiento personal
de los hechos aqui expresados.
5
2.
Elmer, Ludin, E.O., y K.O. son ciudadanos de Guatemala.
6
3.
Elmer huyo de Guatemala por miedo por su vida despues de que varios de los
7
miembros de su familia fueron asesinados. El llego a los Estados Unidos hace dos anos para
8
buscar asilo. Desde entonces, el ha vivido en Westboro, Massachusetts.
9
4.
Cuando Elmer dejo a Guatemala, tuvo que dejar a su esposa, Ludin Jimenez, y
10
sus hijos. Eventualmente, en mayo de 2018, Ludin huyo de Guatemala con sus hijos despues de
11
recibir amenazas de secuestro y violencia
12
5.
Ludin cruzo la frontera con sus hijos en McAllen, Tejas, buscando un lugar para
13
presentarse para pedir el asilo. Fueron detenidos por oficiales de inmigracion y los llevaron a un
14
centro de detencion. Ludin no fae cargada con un delito. Ella nunca vio a un juez o fue a la corte.
15
6.
En el centro de detencion, oficiales dijeron a Ludin que le iba a separarse de sus
16
hijos. Se dijeron que les iban a deportar y sus hijos serian puestas en adopci6n. Ludin les suplico
17
que no la separara de sus hijos e intento de explicar a los oficiales que estaban huyendo de
18
violencia en Guatemala. Su hija estaba llorando.
19
7.
Luego, los oficiales de inmigracion llevaron Ludin a un lugar que se llama "la
20
perrera" sin sus hijos. Alia, Ludin estuvo en una jaula con casi cincuenta otras madres. Los
21
oficiales dijeron que ellas no podian comer porque estaban preguntando por sus hijos. Habia una
22
mujer embarazada que se desmayo debido al hambre. Los oficiales de inmigracion llevaron esta
23
mujer a una clinica.
24
25
8.
Un oficial de inmigracion dijo a Ludin, "como una gotita de agua, destruyo su
pais."
26
1
1
2
9.
Los oficiales insultaron a Ludin y las otras mujeres en la jaula. Las llamaron
nombres malos, y dijeron que fueran estupidas cuando preguntaron por sus hijos.
3
10.
Habia un oficial de inmigracion muy bueno. El dijo que el entendia lo que estaba
r
4
pasando, pero no podia ayudar. El les traia galletitas, porque sabia que no tenian suficiente de
5
comer.
6
7
11.
Ludin no fue permitida banarse ni cepillarse ios dientes durante los ocho dias que
estaba en la perrera.
8
12.
Luego, Uevaron a Ludin a otro centro de detencion en Laredo, Texas. Alia, dijeron
9
que despues de ducharse, ellos iban a regalar a Ludin una tarjeta de llamada con tres minutos.
10
Ludin llamo a Elmer, quien dijo que habia hablado con sus hijos y que ellos estaban en Michigan.
11
13.
Ludin tenia miedo de preguntar por sus hijos, asi que pregunto a un oficial cuando
12
podia ir a ver a un juez en una corte. El oficial dijo se estaban investigando a Ludin y a Elmer, y
13
que ella deberia tener paciencia.
14
14.
Despues de 9 o 10 dias, llevaron Ludin a otro centro de detenci6n en Taylor,
16
15.
En Taylor, por fin Ludin fue capaz de hablar con sus hijos, despues de 21 dias de
17
separacion.
15
18
Texas.
16.
Ludin se conecto con alguien de Caridades Catolicos en Taylor, Texas. Dos dias
19
despues de hablar con la persona de Caridades Catolicos, Ludin logro a conseguir una entrevista
20
de temor creible, y salio bajo una fianza de $1,500.
21
17.
Despues de salir del centro de detenci6n en McAllen, E.G. y K.O. fueron llevados
22
a otro centro de detencion. Separaron E.G. y K.G. en jaulas diferentes, uno frente al otro. Aunque
23
E.G. podia ver a su hermana, cuando intento de hablar con ella, los oficiales de inmigracion lo
24
gritaban.
25
26
18.
En el refugio en Texas, habia ninos que tenian dos anos en las jaulas juntos con
ninos mayores.
2
1
19.
Un oficial de inmigracion dijo a E.O. que el sabia que E.O. tenia mas que 17 aiios
2
y que su acta de nacimiento era falsa. Cuando E.O. insistia que tenia 17 anos, los oficiales le
3
patearon.
4
20.
5
tenia que ducharse.
6
21.
Una vez, se despertaron a K.O. en la madrugada, jalando por el pelo diciendo que
K.O. y E.O. no tenian ni zapatos ni mantas en el centro de detencion y habia tantas
7
personas en las jaulas que tenian que dormir a pie. Ellos tampoco tenian suficiente de comer y
8
no podian tomar el agua debido al cloro que anadieron.
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
22.
E.O. y los otros ninos encarcelados fueron insultados - llamados nombres como
"animales" y "burros."
23.
Llevaron E.O. y K.O. a Michigan juntos en un avion, pero al llegar a Michigan
los separaron. Llevaron a E.O. a un refugio, mientras K.O. fue a una casa foster.
24.
En el refugio en Michigan, los hijos podian hablar con Elmer varias veces cada
semana.
25.
Despues de 21 dias separados de su madre, por fin E.O. y K.O. podian hablar con
16
su mama por telefono. K. O. estaba tan triste despues de esta llamada que los oficiales del refugio
17
llevaron a E.O. a un lugar para consolar a su hermanita.
18
26.
Despues de llenar muchos formularios, el refugio dejo Elmer reunir con sus hijos
19
en Massachusetts. Ellos volaron a Boston desde Michigan el dia 19 de junio, 2018, despues de
20
cinco semanas de separacion.
21
22
23
24
25
26
27.
El dia 28 de junio, 2018, Elmer, E.O. y K.O. se reunieron con Ludin en el
aeropuerto en Boston despues de seis semanas de separacion.
28.
Elmer va a inscribir a E.O. y K.O. en escuelas publicas en Westboro,
Massachusetts.
29.
Elmer y Ludin estan trabajando para encontrar atencion medica para la familia.
Ellos piensan que K.O., en particular, necesita ver a una psicologa.
3
1
Declaramos bajo la pena de perjurio de las leyes de los Estados Unidos de America que lo
2
anterior es verdadero y correcto.
3
4
Ejecutado el dia '
V
de junio de, 2018 en Boston, Massachusetts.
5
6
7
8
iidA
9
10
LUDttJ JIMH NEZ
11
Con nuestros hijos menores, E.G. y K.O.
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
4
EXHIBIT B
Exhibit 8
Exhibit 9
Exhibit 10
Exhibit 11
1
2
3
4
5
6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
7
8
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
9
10
11
12
NO.
Plaintiff,
DECLARATION OF
DELFINA ISMELDA
PAZ RODRIGUEZ
v.
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
Defendants.
13
14
15
I, Delfina Ismelda Paz Rodriguez, am over eighteen years of age, have personal
16
knowledge of and am competent to testify regarding the facts contained herein, and
17
declare the following:
18
I am from Nueva Concepción, Chalatenango, El Salvador. I am 23 years old. I was
19
born on July 31, 1994. I left my town on February 11, 2018 with my daughter,
20
Ashley Erlinda. She is 6 years old. I left El Salvador to protect us from the abuse
21
and violence of her father, Romel, and his colleagues. We were not married but we
22
lived together.
23
He is an agent of National Civil Police Force (Policía Nacional Civil). His brother,
24
Genesis, is also a policeman. I left my country to be able to protect my daughter
25
and myself. I was afraid because the policemen were in my house every day. I filed
26
DECLARATION OF DELFINA ISMELDA PAZ
RODRIGUEZ
Page 1 of 3
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
a complaint of domestic violence against Romel in December of 2017. It was not
2
the first time that I had been harmed by him. After filing the complaint, he was
3
taken to court in front of the judge. The judge put a restraining order on him, but it
4
did not do anything. On the first days of January, he was in my house. I called the
5
police. 5 or 6 policemen came, but did not do anything. So I went to the court. They
6
advised me that they could not protect me, and that I had to leave to protect us.
7
I left El Salvador with my daughter because no one could protect us from Romel.
8
We arrived at the United States border on May 9, 2018. We crossed the river
9
together. After an hour, a car from the border patrol arrived and picked us up. We
10
had crossed the border in Texas. They took us in the car to a detention center. Then
11
they took us to Macali [tr: McAllen], Texas. It was a trip of 5 or 6 hours. We spent
12
2 days in McAllen. The first day, we were together in a dog kennel (perrera) with
13
25 or 30 other people. The conditions were terrible. We slept on the floor. It was
14
very cold. They gave us food that was inedible. That was on May 10th.
15
In McAllen, the immigration officer told me that I had to go to court. After one
16
night of being unable to sleep, some officers came very early. I did not have the
17
time, but is was before dawn, more or less at 4 in the morning. They told me that I
18
had to go to court and that my daughter had to stay there. At that time, she was
19
completely asleep. There was no one to protect her. There were only other children.
20
They put cuffs on our hands and feet, and took all of the adults to court. We were in
21
a group of 60 or 70 people.
22
Before speaking with the judge, a lawyer told all of us that we had to declare
23
ourselves guilty. The lawyer said that if I did not declare myself guilty, I would be
24
unable to contact my daughter.
25
When we went in front of the judge in McAllen, he told us that it he did not agree
26
with the separation of parents from their children, since he did regret what was
DECLARATION OF DELFINA ISMELDA PAZ
RODRIGUEZ
Page 2 of 3
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
happening to us. But he said that he could not do anything. He gave me a fine of
2
$10. That was the 11th of May.
3
The next day, May 12th, we went in a bus to another detention center in Laredo.
4
That was a trip of approximately 3 hours. The conditions in the detention center
5
were awful. I was unwell and I couldn’t sleep. I think that I had a nervous
6
breakdown because of what I was going through. The officers yelled at us
7
constantly and insulted us. For example, they told us that we were filthy. It was
8
psychological torture. I spent 17 days in Laredo.
9
During the first few days in Laredo, I didn’t hear anything about my daughter.
10
Finally, the manager helped me communicate with my daughter. She is now with
11
my sister in Los Angeles. I don’t know how she got there.
12
I arrived here on the 2nd of June, at night.
13
I certify under pain of perjury that the above is true and correct.
14
Dated this 20th of June, 2018, in SeaTac, Washington.
15
[Signature]
16
Delfina Ismelda Paz Rodriguez
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF DELFINA ISMELDA PAZ
RODRIGUEZ
Page 3 of 3
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
2
3
4
5
6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
7
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
NO.
8
Plaintiff,
DECLARACION DE
9
del F,'
V.
10
11
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
12
Defendants.
13
Yo,
,`
~-r
6
~
, tengo mas de dieciocho anos de edad,
14
tengo conocimiento personal y soy compe ente para testificar sobre los hechos aqui contenidos,
15
y declaro to siguiente:
16
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17
18
19
20
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21
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25
26
DECLARACION DE
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of
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
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Page
of
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
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DECLARAC16N DE
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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
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DECLARACI6N DE
r
Page r! Of
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASFHNGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206)464-7744
1
2
We
3
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DECLARAC16N DE
Page
of
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASIENGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
Exhibit 12
1
2
3
4
5
6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
7
8
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
9
Plaintiff,
10
11
12
NO.
DECLARATION OF
DORIS ARRIAGGAPINEDA
v.
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
Defendants.
13
14
15
I, Doris Arriagga-Pineda, am over eighteen years of age, have personal knowledge
16
of and am competent to testify regarding the facts contained herein, and declare the
17
following:
18
1.
19
me and my daughter.
20
2.
21
‘icebox’ (la hielera), where I spent one day with my daughter, Erika Adela
22
Villanueva-Real, who is 6 years of age. We slept on the floor there, with only the
23
aluminum blanket. There were many people there, and they only gave us bread
24
with juice, [it was] cold, my little girl didn’t eat.
25
3.
I came to the United States out of fear of my husband returning and harming
On May 20th, I was detained. I requested asylum and they took me to the
On May 21st, they transferred me and my daughter to McAllen, Texas.
26
DECLARATION OF DORIS ARRIAGAPINEDA
Page 1 of 2
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
On May 22nd, they took me to the court, when I got back they had taken her
1
4.
2
away. They took me to a cell and I did not go back to my daughter after that.
3
5.
The officer kept saying that I wasn’t my daughter’s mother.
4
6.
On May 23rd, they took us to Laradero [tr: Laredo], Texas. I was there 11
5
days with no communication with my daughter. I didn’t hear anything about her.
6
7.
On June 3rd, I came to Washington in a plane.
7
8.
Last week, on Wednesday, was the first time that I communicated with my
8
daughter.
9
9.
What worries me the most about my daughter is the separation. She has
10
never been separated from me. It is difficult for her to eat. She always cries. The
11
day I called, she couldn’t speak. My life is my daughter.
12
I declare, under pain of perjury under the laws of the state of Washington and
13
of the United States, that the above is true and correct.
14
DATED this 20th day of June, 2018 in Seattle, Washington.
Name: [Signature: Doris Marist Arria Pineda]
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF DORIS ARRIAGAPINEDA
Page 2 of 2
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
2
3
4
5
6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
7
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
NO.
8
Plaintiff,
DECLARACION DE
9i
V.
10
11
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
12
Defendants.
13
14
Yo, 1)~`( ( ~ y`
, tengo mas de dieciocho anos de edad,
`~(~P
tengo conocimiento personal y soy competente para testificar sobre los hechos aqui contenidos,
15
y declaro to siguiente:
16
17
hQY Y-PAY?(
9'A VJIf I Y VA.Y.I
WI,Vk(P(Kj'
;, l 1A A
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARACIQN DE
Page
06
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206)464-7744
~Lj A
1
2
3
4
P.
5
61
7
8
hA
60
ZA Z
f
9
10
11
hit
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f~2
Zzho
r
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECL CION DE
LI
Paga
Of
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206)464-7744
1
2
3
4I
Declaro bajo pena de perjurio bajo las leyes del estado de Washington y de los Estados
Unidos que to anterior es verdadero y correcto.
FECHADO este Q
dia de Junio, 2018 en Seattle, Washington.
5
6
Nombre: J) 0 r
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
ECI ARACION DE
page Of,
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
Exhibit 13
1
2
3
4
5
6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
7
8
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
9
Plaintiff,
10
11
12
NO.
DECLARATION OF
ELIZABETH GARCIA
CASTILLO
v.
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
Defendants.
13
14
15
I, Elizabeth Garcia Castillo, am over eighteen years of age, have personal
16
knowledge of and am competent to testify regarding the facts contained herein, and
17
declare the following:
18
1.
19
Israel de la Luz and Uriel. They are American citizens.
20
2.
21
requested asylum on Bridge One in Laredo because I am afraid of returning to
22
Mexico. My husband and sons have been victims of violence there. The three of
23
them were even assaulted several times, and Israel de la Luz had a pistol pointed at
24
him while walking to school at 9:00 in the morning. I complained to the police but
25
they told me directly that they weren’t going to be able to do anything.
I am a citizen of Mexico. I have two twin sons aged 15. Their names are
I came to the border with Israel de la Luz on the 19th of May, 2018. I
26
DECLARATION OF ELIZABETH GARCIA
CASTILLO
Page 1 of 2
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
I was separated from Israel de la Luz. He was sent to Oregon, where my sister lives.
2
After he left, I was put in chains on my hands, feet and waist like a criminal. Israel
3
asked me why they were treating me like a criminal.
4
3.
5
I would not see Israel de la Luz until he is 18 years old, because they were going to
6
put him up with an American family for adoption. That scared me a lot.
7
4.
8
them were we given water to drink, even if we asked for it. We had to drink water
9
from the washbasin. There were two tacos for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the
10
detention centers on the border. They were two small tacos with rice and beans. We
11
were not given jackets for the cold for 4 days.
12
5.
I speak with Israel de la Luz 2-3 times per week.
13
6.
I am very worried about Israel de la Luz. He needs his mother. I requested
14
asylum because my family needed security. My sons and I have experienced
15
violence and fear in Mexico.
16
7.
17
mothers and fathers of children who also requested asylum.
18
8.
19
The authorities told me that they were not going to give me asylum, and that
I have been detained in various places. Some have been very cold. In none of
Most of the people with whom I have spoken in the detention centers are
No one has interviewed me about my request for asylum.
I declare, under pain of perjury under the laws of the state of Washington and
20
of the United States, that the above is true and correct.
21
DATED this 20th day of June, 2018 in Seattle, Washington.
22
[Signature]
23
Name: Elizabeth García Castillo
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF ELIZABETH GARCIA
CASTILLO
Page 2 of 2
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
2
3
4
5
6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
7
NO.
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
8
Plaintiff,
DECLARACION DE
9
V.
lCs'
10
11
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
12
Defendants.
13
rhq E
YO,
.
t
J
1
, tengo mas de dieciocho anos de edad,
,r
14
tengo conocimiento personal y soy competente para testificar sobre los hechos aqui contenidos,
15
y declaro to siguiente:
16
LJ
17
18
19
20
a
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.
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1
21
22
23
24
25
26
D,FCLARACION DE
/
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,
Page I
, LL'.
,
Of /
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206)464-7744
,,
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12'
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DE LARACION DE
~
Page 2 of
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
s
r
. rTfit;}
9
p
10
11
it
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12
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13
14
15
16
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17
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9
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19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARACION DE
te
,r
Page ~) Of
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206)464-7744
1
2
3
4
Declaro bajo pena de perjurio bajo las leyes del estado de Washington y de los Estados
Unidos que to anterior es verdadero y correcto.
FECHADO esteem dia de Junio, 2018 en Seattle, Washington.
5
6
Nombfe:
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARACI6N DE
Page
A
of
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206)464-7744
Exhibit 14
1
2
3
4
5
6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
7
8
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
9
10
11
12
NO.
Plaintiff,
DECLARATION OF
v.
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
DAMARIS AGUIRRE
VEGA
Defendants.
13
14
15
I, Damaris Aguirre Vega, am over eighteen years of age, have personal knowledge
16
of and am competent to testify regarding the facts contained herein, and declare the
17
following:
18
I am from San Pedro Sula, Santo Pablo Department, Honduras. I was born on July
19
5, 1974. I have a 14-year-old daughter, whose name is Angie. We arrived in the
20
United States on May 17, 2018. We arrived at Piedras Negras, in Texas. We left
21
Honduras because of the lack of security that has given rise to the gangs called
22
maras, and the political crisis. The gangs have been robbing, kidnapping and
23
assaulting many girls, including many girls in my daughter’s high school. The
24
Government of Honduras never protected them. I know girls at my daughter’s high
25
school who have been assaulted by the gangs. There was a lot of danger in the high
26
DECLARATION OF DAMARIS AGUIRRE
VEGA
Page 1 of 3
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
school my daughter was attending. I was afraid that something would also happen
2
to my daughter, and in order to protect her we went to the United States. When we
3
arrived at the immigration offices in Piedras Negras, I was with my daughter for
4
about one hour. The immigration officer asked me some questions and told me that
5
I would be imprisoned for having entered the United States with my daughter. My
6
daughter heard this and cried, she came to me and, crying, said “oh mom, oh mom”
7
(ay mami, ay mami), and she grabbed my leg. Then the immigration officers
8
grabbed her and took her away. She was crying and crying while they took her
9
away. I couldn’t say goodbye to her. My soul was breaking apart. I also knew that
10
she had not eaten. We hadn’t eaten in two days and they only gave her a burrito that
11
she did not eat because they took her away quickly. They did not tell me where they
12
were taking her. I was very worried about my little girl. I was in the icebox
13
(hielera) for 4 or 5 hours, then they took me to the Valverde jail. After five days,
14
they took me to the court. The judge gave me ten days’ fine. In the court, there were
15
a ton of people waiting. In my three-minute conversation with the judge, he asked
16
me about the action of crossing the border, nothing more. The questions were not
17
about the fear that my daughter and I have of returning to Honduras. And I said that
18
I was guilty of crossing the river, because a lawyer had talked to us as a group and
19
advised all of us to say that we were guilty of crossing the border.
20
I am very worried about my daughter. I have not yet been able to speak with her
21
since we were separated, and I was not sure of where she was. I know that my little
22
girl wants to be with me and that hurts me. I hope that she is OK now. I am trying
23
to claim political asylum to protect my daughter and myself.
24
I certify under penalty of perjury that the above is true and correct.
25
Dated this 20th day of June, 2018, in SeaTac, Washington.
26
[Signature: Damaris Aguirre Vega]
DECLARATION OF DAMARIS AGUIRRE
VEGA
Page 2 of 3
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
DAMARIS AGUIRRE VEGA
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF DAMARIS AGUIRRE
VEGA
Page 3 of 3
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
2
3
4
5
6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
7
NO.
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
8
DECLARACION DE
Plaintiff,
9
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10
11
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
12
Defendants.
13
Yo,
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14
tengo conocimiento personal y soy competente para testificar sobre los hechos aqui contenidos,
15
y declaro to siguiente:
16
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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206)464-7744
a
Exhibit 15
1
2
3
4
5
6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
7
8
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
9
Plaintiff,
10
11
12
NO.
v.
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
DECLARATION OF
GLADYS MONROYGUERRA DE
TESUCUM
Defendants.
13
14
15
I, Gladys Monroy-Guerra de Tesucum, am over eighteen years of age, have
16
personal knowledge of and am competent to testify regarding the facts contained
17
herein, and declare the following:
18
1.
19
refuge. I am afraid of returning to my country, because my cousin will kill me and
20
my children. I caught him raping his step-daughter. He is a drug trafficker and he
21
has killed more than 45 people. He told me, in writing with a note on my door, that
22
he is going to dismember me. He has threatened my children as well. We had to
23
flee.
24
2.
25
do anything to protect us.
I am from Guatemala. I arrived in the United States on May 20, 2018 seeking
I complained to the police about my cousin. The police in my country cannot
26
DECLARATION OF GLADYS MONROYGUERRA DE TESUCUM
Page 1 of 3
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
3.
When I first spoke with ICE officers, they told us, “why did you come from
2
your country?”, “don’t you know that we hate you people?”, “we don’t want you in
3
our country”.
4
4.
5
with me. After entering, they separated them from me, and they took me to court,
6
where they condemned me as a criminal. No one asked me if I was afraid to return
7
to my country or why I fled. There were 50 of us who were condemned as
8
criminals during the same hearing.
9
5.
My two children, Adolfo Alexander and Elian, fled with me and came in
There was no opportunity for me to say goodbye to my children. When I
10
came back to the “dog kennel” (perrera), where we were being held [note in
11
margin: after court], my boys weren’t there anymore. I became physically unwell
12
when I found out that my little boys had been taken away. I didn’t know where they
13
were.
14
6.
15
didn’t know anything about them. I was in SeaTac for more than two weeks
16
without speaking to them or hearing anything about them. 31 days in total without
17
speaking to them.
18
7.
I spoke with my children once on June 19th. I think they are in Texas.
19
8.
I have family in Virginia. My children have the phone number of our family
20
there. They have not been reunited with that family member, and no one has said if
21
that is going to happen.
22
9.
23
about me, because they did not hear from me for more than a month.
24
10.
25
and no one has interviewed me. I tried to explain to the authorities in the border,
26
and they told me “there’s no reason to tell us that”.
I was in Laredo for 11 days. I had no communication with my children. I
Adolfo Alexander is 16 years old and Elian is 11. They are very worried
Until now, no one has asked me whether I am afraid to return to my country,
DECLARATION OF GLADYS MONROYGUERRA DE TESUCUM
Page 2 of 3
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
11.
2
jackets in the cold to wake us up, and they threw out our food before we were
3
finished eating.
4
12.
5
away to deport her without her 3-year-old daughter. She cried and screamed for
6
them to please not deport her without her daughter. She screamed a lot. It was
7
shocking.
8
13.
9
chains and everything. I’m just seeking refuge.
10
In the dog kennel, ICE [agents] mocked our accents, they took away our
I remember the example of another mother – there were many. They took her
I am seeking refuge in the USA. We are being treated like criminals in
I declare, under pain of perjury under the laws of the state of Washington and
11
of the United States, that the above is true and correct.
12
DATED this 20th day of June, 2018 in Seattle, Washington.
13
[Signature: Gladis Monroy]
14
Name: Gladis Monroy
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF GLADYS MONROYGUERRA DE TESUCUM
Page 3 of 3
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
2
3
4
5
6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
7
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
NO.
8
Plaintiff,
DECLARACION DE
9
V.
10
11
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
12
Defendants.
13
Yo,
, tengo mas de dieciocho anos de edad,
14
tengo conocimento personal y soy competente para testificar sobre los hechos aqui contenidos,
15
y declaro to siguiente:
16
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21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARACI6N DE
Page
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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
2
3
4
5
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9
10
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13
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800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
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ATTORNEY GENERAL of WASI3 NGTGN
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
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DEcLARAc16N DE
Page
Of
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206)464-7744
1
2
3
Declaro bajo pena de perjurio bajo las leyes del estado de Washington y de los Estados
Unidos que to anterior es verdadero y correcto.
FECHADO este To dia de Junio, 2018 en Seattle, Washington.
4
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DECLARACION DE
a
Page
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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206)464-7744
Exhibit 16
1
2
3
4
5
6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
7
8
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
9
10
11
12
13
Plaintiff,
v.
NO.
DECLARATION OF
MARIA ELOINA DUBON M.
DONALD TRUMP in his
capacity as President of the
United States, et al,
Defendants.
14
15
16
I, MARIA ELOINA DUBON MEJIA, am over eighteen years of age, have
17
personal knowledge, and am competent to testify regarding the facts contained
18
herein, and hereby declare the following:
19
I am from Honduras, from the city of Ocotepeque. I came to the United States on
20
May 18, 2018 with my 11-year-old son named Darwin. He is my only child. I
21
decided to leave Honduras because I was witness to a murder that occurred in
22
March of this year. About four days later I began receiving threatening letters,
23
telling me not to say what I had seen or they would do the same to me. They were
24
watching me. I feared for my life and my son’s. I do not trust the Honduran
25
police to ask for their protection; I know they are corrupt. My brother was
26
murdered in Honduras more or less two years ago and the police never did
DECLARATION OF
MARIA ELOINA DUBON M.
Page 1 of 1
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
anything. From then on, my family has been afraid because people there talk
about it being possible that they might also be in danger. But the authorities do
nothing to find the murderers. For these reasons I decided to come to the United
States. I am afraid of to return to Honduras and that they would kill my son. In
Immigration they took my son and me to a place called the icebox. There we
were separated and I was unable to talk to him. My son was kept in the icebox
but in another room, with no contact with me. I was there for one night and part
of the day. We were not given mattresses, just aluminum foil. We slept on the
ground. The children also had no mattresses, but were in another room. I only
saw my son when we had our photo taken together. He was worried; he wanted
to know when we would get out. The following day I was taken to another place,
without my son. We were told that we would be apart for five days because I had
to go to court and my son could not come. They did not let me say goodbye to
him and I did not see him again. They took me to a large area with separate
rooms like wire cages. An officer talked to me and told me the mothers would be
deported and the children would remain in the United States. If no one can get
him, he will stay in a place with children with no parents. I felt as though my life
was over. I told them they would not take my son from me. He made me
understand that I could be deported without me [illegible] without my son. I
understood that they wanted to take him away forever. He told me that I had used
my son as a passport. I was crying when the officer told me that, with another
woman that was there, and another officer that was laughing at us. I was in this
place for two nights. There we also slept on the ground with the same aluminum
foil and the same food. It was very cold and we were not given more to keep us
warm. We were also given the same food as the other place and I was not eating
26
DECLARATION OF
MARIA ELOINA DUBON M.
Page 2 of 2
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
because the food was ugly; the mortadella was still frozen. I was suffering
because I thought my son was also being given this same food and he would be
hungry. From there they took me to the Texas detention facility, where I
remained about 11 or 12 days, with no knowledge about my son. They moved us
from there on a Friday at 6 in the evening; we were kept in a room all night until
8 in the morning on Saturday, with no mattresses or a place to sleep. During the
morning we were given the same sandwich. Afterward our hands and feet were
shackled and we were taken to a bus. We were taken to the airplane and we were
shackled on the bus from 9 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon without eating.
From there we took the plane to come here to SeaTac. I have been here 18 days,
with no knowledge about my son. I asked an Immigration officer for the number
to talk to my son but I have not been given it. This makes me feel desperate and
afraid for my son. He is still too young to be alone. When I was in the detention
facility in Texas, I wrote a letter for Immigration asking about my son. Officer
Sánchez answered 3 days later, saying my son was detained in Texas, but
afterward I sent another letter asking for the number to talk to my son but I
received no answer. My boyfriend spoke with a social worker and was told that
my son is in a shelter in Texas, but they will not allow him to speak to him. I am
still worried because I do not know how my son is and I have been unable to
speak with him. I have also been unable to see a judge and have not been
interviewed out of fear. I told the Immigration officer that spoke to me when I
was detained in the cages that I feared for my and my son’s lives in Honduras
and I did not want to return to that. He said the laws had changed and that now
they were deporting parents and keeping the children. Being apart from my son is
very painful for me. I come from a very difficult situation in Honduras. I lived
26
DECLARATION OF
MARIA ELOINA DUBON M.
Page 3 of 3
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
2
3
4
5
with such fear that I could not sleep. I want to be with my son more than
anything in the world. I asked why they would not stop this process with my son,
and they told me these are the laws. It seems unfair and very cruel to me. My son
and I have never been apart for his entire life. His father abandoned us when he
was one year old and I am his only parent.
6
7
8
I hereby declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the state of Washington
and the United States that the aforementioned is true and correct.
9
10
ON this day, June 20, 2018 in Seattle, Washington.
11
12
Maria Eloina Dubon Mejia
13
Name: MARIA ELOINA DUBON MEJIA
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF
MARIA ELOINA DUBON M.
Page 4 of 4
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
2'
31
4
5
6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
7
8
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
NO.
DECLARACION DE
Plaintiff,
9
10
11
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
12
Defendants.
13
Yo,
, tengo mas de dieciocho anos de edad,
14
tengo conocimiento personal y soy competente para testificar sobre los hechos aqui contenidos,
15
y declaro to siguiente:
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARACI6N DE
Page I
Of
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206) 464-7744
1
2
3
4
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26
I ECLARACION DE
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800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206)464-7744
1
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DECLARACI6N DE
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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
(206)464-7744
1
2
3
4
Declaro bajo pena de perjurio bajo las leyes del estado de Washington y de los Estados
Unidos que to anterior es verdadero y correcto.
FECHADO este -2 )_ dia de Junio, 2018 en Seattle, Washington.
5
6
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EXHIBIT 2
English Translation of Letter by "Maria"
Dear and respected reader, please accept my cordial greeting, hoping that you are in good health
alongside those who are around you. After this brief greeting I continue to the following.
The reason for this letter is to tell you a little about how I entered the border. I came on the migrant
caravan because of threats in my country. Thanks to god we made it to Tijuana. I traveled with my 2
children, one of them 7 years old and the other 2 years old. We all decided to turn ourselves in on
Sunday but when we got to the border the agents said that they were going to let 50 people in, but they
didn't let them in. They had us waiting and nobody was let in and two days later they started to let in
some of our companions of the caravan.
On Tuesday, May 2nd, it was my turn to enter with my 2 children. We walked along the bridge to get to
the door, and right away we entered inside and they inspected us and then they sent us where the other
agents are. They asked me why I came and I answered, to seek asylum, I am afraid of returning to my
country. They asked for my documents and my children's birth certificates and my Salvadoran ID and
then they took us to a waiting area. Then they called us to take our fingerprints and photos of me and
my children. Then they took us to the iceboxes and gave us each a sheet and on Thursday at 5 in the
morning they took me to an interview by myself and my children waited in the icebox. Then they sent
me back to the icebox and I remained there.
On Monday they called my 2 children out and they asked them questions and I just watched them
through a window and then they called me and they asked me other questions and then they sent us
back in.
On Tuesday at about 8am they called just my 2 children and I went out and they said "Miss, only they
are going." I asked where and they told me where there are more children. I told them they cannot
separate my children from me, they are my children, and I showed them a letter where it said that I am
the mother and that they cannot separate them from me. They said that that didn't matter here and
they told me to tell them which were their belongings to take them and they told me I had 10 minutes
to say goodbye to them. I said, "but why are you taking them away?" And they just said that where you
are going they cannot be, they said to say goodbye right away.
The older child, when he heard that, started to cry and said to me, crying, "mommy I don't want to go,
I don't want them to separate us," and the other child, when he saw the other crying, began to cry as
well. I felt so badly I just hugged them and kissed them and told them, "go son, god willing we will be
together soon. Take care of your little brother," I said "I love you two very much."
Then the officer said "they are here for them. Can the little one walk?" "Yes," I told the officer. "Let him
down," they told me. The older one took his hand and they started to walk. Then they turned around to
look and when they saw that I was not going after them they cried more and when they were out of
sight I asked again where they had taken them. They only told me "to a shelter" and that they would
explain to me later and they took me back to the icebox.
At about 2 in the afternoon they transported me and I asked again about my children. The officer told
me he didn't know anything. I asked another and they said they didn't know but they would ask. Then
they came back and said to me "they called your uncle to see ifhe would take them in." And later they
took me, cuffed at the feet and hands and waist, to Otay Mesa Detention.
I got here and asked and they gave me a call and I spoke to my uncle and he told me that yes, they had
called him but they had only asked him to send some documents. Well, I didn't know where they had
taken them, so I sent an [ICE information request] the day after I arrived and later my uncle told me
where they were but the response to my [ICE information request] didn't come until the 17th.
Today I also had my credible fear interview and I am just waiting for the result, and well my children
are still in a shelter and I don't know if they will give them to my uncle here. He is doing everything
possible for them to give them to him. He has sent various documents that he even had to send for
from El Salvador.
Another thing, the caravan was very useful for me. Well, it helped me get here, but ifl hadn't learned
about the caravan I would have come anyways. Even though it would have been difficult for me I
would have come anyways because my children were in danger there and I am only looking out for
their well-being, and I know I exposed them but I know they are alive. If I had stayed in El Salvador
maybe I wouldn't be here anymore or maybe they wouldn't be here anymore.
And let it be clear that I brought them to protect them because I love them and what is happening to
me hurts so much that there are times when I don't know what to do, I get so desperate and depressed
not having my children with me, and there isn't a second of peace for me while I don't have my
children by my side. Not a night goes by without me crying, thinking that they aren't with me and that
they need me. Well I just want to tell the Government Committee to put yourselves in my place for a
bit and think. I think most of you have children. Think about what you would feel if they separated
your children from you for a time. If you could feel the pain I feel as a mother maybe you would
understand that it isn't necessary to separate children from their parents because we come fleeing
from our countries.
Don't you see that they are the ones who suffer the most when they're separated from their parents?
And I only ask that you put your hands on your heart for a little bit to feel the pain that parents feel
when they are separated from their children. I only tell the president that what he is doing is not okay
and that god willing he never has to go feel the pain I am feeling. I tell him that we are not criminals,
that we are only people who need asylum to be well with our children. And I tell you not to judge the
caravan, because what they have done is help us and I thank them and say that we are not criminals,
and god willing everything will be okay and I trust that god will help me.
I am not someone who is just talking or writing. I am a mother who is desperate for her children. They
are so unjust for separating us from them, but I have faith that god will touch your hearts. And another
thing: we are not criminals or animals.
Well with that I bid farewell.
Sincerely,
Maria
I, Alexander Mensing, do swear and confirm that I am fluent in the Spanish and English languages and
that the foregoing is a true and accurate English translation of the Spanish-language original to the
best of my knowledge.
Alexander Mensing
May 20,
Date
2018
Exhibit 25
Exhibit 26
Exhibit 27
1
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
2
3
4
5
STATE OF WASHINGTON, et al.
6
7
Plaintiffs,
v.
8
9
10
NO. 2:18-CV-00939-MJP
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et al.
Defendants.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF MARJEAN A. PERHOT
Exhibit 28
1
2
3
4
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
5
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
6
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
W.D. Wash. Case No. ____________
7
Plaintiff,
8
DECLARATION OF TARA FORD
IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S
PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
v.
9
10
11
DONALD TRUMP in his official
capacity as President of the United States,
et al.,
Defendants.
12
13
14 I, Tara Ford, declare as follows:
15
1. I am over the age of 18 and have personal knowledge of all the facts stated herein except as to
16
those facts which are stated on information and belief, and as to those facts I believe them to
17
be true.
18
19
20
2. I am an attorney licensed to practice in the State of New Mexico. I graduated from Stanford
Law School in 1993, and have worked continuously over the last 25 years as a child advocate.
3. I am the Clinical Supervising Attorney for the Youth & Education Law Project at Stanford
21
Law School’s Mills Legal Clinic, an in-house teaching clinic working with economically
22
disadvantaged children and their families in education–related matters.
23
4. I am a founder of Pegasus Legal Services in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a private, non-profit
24
agency that serves the civil legal needs of New Mexico’s vulnerable children and youth.
25
5. Since its founding in in 2002, Pegasus has partnered with private and community foundations,
26
individuals and business donors to provide legal representation for New Mexico children in
27
the fields of education and youth law, kinship guardianship, child abuse and neglect.
28
DECLARATION OF TARA FORD IN SUPPORT
OF PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
1
Washington v. Trump, No.
1
6. The mission of Pegasus is “to promote and defend the rights of children and youth to safe,
2
stable homes, quality education and healthcare, and a voice in decisions that affect their
3
lives.”
4
5
6
7
7. As part of that mission, we at Pegasus emphasize that the right of children to participate in
determining their placement, education, services—and their futures—is paramount.
8. At Stanford, I train future lawyers to build awareness, capacity and expertise to represent and
advocate for the rights of children in the courts and in the community.
8
9. As housing solutions are quickly contrived for children who appear at the country’s southern
9
border, appear unaccompanied or who were separated from their families under the Zero
10
Tolerance policy of the current administration, I am confident that children’s rights have been
11
or will be violated and that the State of New Mexico will be ill-prepared to provide a healthy
12
environment for them should they be placed in New Mexico. In addition, placing children and
13
their families in military facilities under these circumstances conflicts with well-established
14
New Mexico law.
15
10. I am informed and believe based on published audit information that children held at the
16
Otero County ICE detention center in Southern New Mexico lived with unsanitary bathrooms
17
and were subjected to unjustified lock-downs and solitary confinements, and that the
18
privately-operated facility was exempted from ICE’s standards for recreational opportunities
19
and natural light. 1
20
11. Research demonstrates that restraint and seclusion, such as solitary confinement, are
21
ineffective methods of behavioral control and result in severe physical and psychological
22
harm to children, 2 especially to children who have already experienced trauma. New Mexico
23
1
See Office of Inspector General “Concerns
24 Detention Facilities” (Dec. 11, 2017) available at: About ICE Detainee Treatment and Care at
25 https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2017-12/OIG-18-32-Dec17.pdf (last visited on June
28, 2018); see also Las Cruces Sun News, “Problems at Otero County ICE detention center found in
audit, December 23, 2017.”
26
2
David Weissbrodt, Willy Madeira, Daniel Stewart, and William Dikel, Applying International
27 Human Rights Standards to the Restraint and Seclusion of Students with Disabilities, 30 LAW & INEQ. 287
28
(2012), available at http://scholarship.law.umn.edu/faculty_articles/. See also, Seclusions and Restraints:
DECLARATION OF TARA FORD IN SUPPORT
OF PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
2
Washington v. Trump, No.
1
law protects children from these practices in treatment centers and in schools. N.M. Stat.
2
Ann. § 32A-6A-9; § 22-5-4.12. Allowing a child to be placed in unjustified lock-downs and
3
solitary confinements violates a child’s right to be free from improper and harmful restraint
4
and seclusion.
5
12. Over the last two decades representing children, I have witnessed firsthand the trauma
6
children experience when they are separated from their families. The research I have reviewed
7
confirms what we see in the field – that children need to be with loving parents or caretakers.
8
I am informed and believe that separation from loved ones is one of the most profound
9
traumas a child can experience. 3
10
13. Research also shows that exposure to trauma can lead to palpable, physiological harm to a
11
young person’s developing brain. I am informed and believe that trauma is associated with
12
mental health conditions, developmental disruption and consequent educational loss for
13
children. 4
14
14. New Mexico law protects family preservation. “It is the policy of the state that its laws and
15
programs shall:
16
A. Support intact, functional families and promote each family’s ability and responsibility to
17
raise its children;
18
B. Strengthen families in crisis and at risk of losing their children, so that children can
19
remain safely in their own homes when their homes are safe environments and in their
20
communities;
21
22 Selected Cases of Death and Abuse at Public and Private Schools and Treatment Centers, U.S. Government
Accountability Office (2009) found at: https://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09719t.pdf (last visited June 28,
23 2018)
24
3
The Nat’l Child Traumatic Stress Network, Children with Traumatic Separation: Information
for Professionals 2, https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources//children_with_traumatic
25
_separation_professionals.pdf.
26
4
Bruce D. Perry & Ronnie Pollard, Homoeostasis, Stress, Trauma, and Adaptation: A
Neurodevelopmental View of Childhood Trauma, 7 CHILD ADOLESC. PSYCHIATR. CLIN. N. AM. 33, 36
27
(1998). See also Ray Wolpow et al., The Heart of Learning and Teaching: Compassion, Resiliency,
28 and Academic Success 12, 13 (Wa. State Off. of Superintendent of Pub. Instr., 3d prtg. 2016).
DECLARATION OF TARA FORD IN SUPPORT
OF PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
3
Washington v. Trump, No.
1
2
3
4
C. Promote the creation of well-paying, stable jobs so that families can provide for their
basic needs, including health, education, food, clothing and shelter, and
D. Halt the breakup of the nuclear family, stabilize neighborhoods and strengthen
communities.
5
N.M. Stat. Ann. § 40-15-3.
6
15. New Mexico law recognizes the importance of keeping children with their loved ones and
7
promoting safe home environments for children in the community. Hastily placing immigrant
8
children and families in military facilities is contrary to established New Mexico policy.
9
16. For these reasons, I oppose plans to house immigrant families in military facilities pending
10
adjudication and, in circumstances where children already have been separated from and not
11
returned to their families, the continued separation of children from their parents.
12
13
I declare under the laws of the State of Washington and of the United States of America that
14 the foregoing is true and correct.
15
Executed this 29th day of June, 2018 at Stanford, California.
16
17
Tara Ford
Clinical Supervising Attorney
YOUTH AND EDUCATION LAW PROJECT
MILLS LEGAL CLINIC
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
DECLARATION OF TARA FORD IN SUPPORT
OF PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
4
Washington v. Trump, No.
Exhibit 29
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE
8
9
STATE OF WASHINGTON, et al.,
10
11
NO. 2:18-cv-00939 - MJP
Plaintiffs,
DECLARATION OF ALISON M.
GRIFFITH
v.
12
DONALD TRUMP in his official
c pacity as President of the United States, et
13 .,
Defendants.
1
I, Alison M. Griffith, declare as follows:
16
1.
I am over the age of 18 and have personal knowledge of all the facts stated
2.
I am a Staff Attorney in the Refugee and Immigrant Program at The Advocates
17
herein.
18
19
20
for Human Rights, a Minneapolis based non-profit organization. In that capacity, I represent
individuals eligible for relief from deportation before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
21
22
23
Services and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (Immigration Court). Our office
primarily represents asylum seekers, but this affidavit focuses on my representation of a child
24
forcibly separated from her parents and urgently seeking voluntary departure from the United
25
States.
26
DECLARATION OF ALISON M.
GRIFFITH
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
1
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1
2
3
3.
Beginning in June of 2018, I began representing an 8-year-old girl from
Guatemala who desperately wants to return to her mother and father and four younger siblings
in Guatemala.
4
4.
In connection with my representation of this child, I have interviewed both her
5
6
7
and her father. I interviewed the child in person at my office, and her father via an international
telephone call, as he currently resides in Guatemala.
8
Family Life In Guatemala
9
5.
10
My client's· father shared that his family is extremely poor. He struggles to give
his children basic nutrition, clothing and educational opportunities. His goal for them is that
11
they have a better life, so they do not have to struggle as he and their mother have struggled all
12
13
14
their lives. He also reports that the family lives in a dangerous environment, including a
significant presence of criminal groups who kidnap children and rob both children and adults.
15
He fears that his daughters will be kidnapped and harmed, in the same way that so many
16
individuals in the region where he resides have been. He became particularly afraid for his
17
family's safety after a man was murdered at work in a nearby town by an unknown criminal
18
group. Based on autopsy results, the man was brutally beaten and knifed in the stomach and
19
died as a result of those injuries.
20
21
22
Journey Of Father And Child To The United States
6.
In November of 2017, my child client and her father traveled to the U.S.
23
seeking safety and a better life. My client and her father suffered on their journey to the U.S.-
24
they went days with little sleep and sometimes no more than a soda for nourishment in an
25
26
DECLARATION OF ALISON M.
GRIFFITH
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
2
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1
2
3
entire day. However, my client's father was desperate, after trying for many years to work hard
enough to offer his family a safer, better life in Guatemala and finding no way to do so.
7.
Shortly after my client and her father reached the U.S. border, they encountered
4
Customs and Border Patrol Officers who requested papers from them and then arrested them.
5
6
8.
After their arrest, my client and her father were told by Border Patrol officers
7
they could not stay together. My child client described her and her father's encounter with
8
Border Patrol in this way:
9
My papa explained that he wanted to stay with me, his daughter. I also told the officer
the same thing, that I wanted to stay with my papa. The officer said that parents cannot go with
their children and took my father to jail. I was very sad and cried a lot when we were
separated. My papa cried a lot too. I did not know at that moment where I would go. A woman
took me after that to another place.
10
11
12
13
9.
My client's father recalls that he was not told where his child was being taken.
He recalls that his daughter was holding onto him, with her arms around his stomach, begging
14
to stay with him, and that Border Patrol officers forcibly pulled the child away as she embraced
15
16
17
18
him. He recalls that the officers told him not to bring his other children to the U.S., since they
would have to stay in the U.S. and the adults would face immediate deportation.
10.
After his daughter was taken away, my client's father asked repeatedly for
19
information about her whereabouts. For fifteen days, no officer would tell him where she was.
20
He spent many sleepless nights while detained, worrying and wondering where she was and
21
when he would be able to talk to her. He became sick, and began to have stomach problems.
22
He asked the Border Patrol officers for medication, but they paid no attention to this request.
23
24
25
He was only able to receive treatment for these medical issues after he was deported back to
Guatemala.
26
DECLARATION OF ALISON M.
GRIFFITH
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
3
Error! Auto Text entry not defined.
1
2
3
11.
After about 15 days, one officer finally agreed to "do him a favor" and looked
his daughter up in some information system to which the officer had access. Using that system
the officer verified that my client was in New York at a shelter and told my client's father.
4
However, it was not until after my client's father was deported to Guatemala that they were
5
6
finally able to speak to one another.
12.
7
While my client's father was detained, he repeatedly told Border Patrol officers
8
that he wanted to fight his case. He was told that he would be unable to fight the case and that
9
instead he would be deported. He remembers that one officer told him that he should not try to
10
fight his case because he would have to spend 8 to 12 months detained while fighting to stay in
11
the United States. When he heard that, he thought of his children going so many months with
12
13
14
15
no financial support and decided that the officers were right to tell him he should not fight to
stay.
13.
While my client's father was detained and for some time after he was deported,
16
my client was placed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement in federally licensed foster care
17
placements in New York for several months while the ORR completed their procedures for
18
evaluating whether her aunt, who resides in Minnesota, would be a safe and proper placement
19
for the child. Once their evaluation was complete, they released the child to her aunt, and
20
21
22
assigned a social worker to conduct post-release services to the child.
14.
The child has lived in Minnesota for several months. However, the child's aunt
23
reports that the child continues to cry herself to sleep, missing her family and wanting only to
24
go home to them. Distracted by thoughts of returning to her family, she struggles to
25
concentrate in school.
26
DECLARATION OF ALISON M.
GRIFFITH
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
4
Error! AutoText entry not defined.
1
2
3
15.
My client reports that she wants to go back to "my mama and my papa, and my
three little sisters and my little brother" as soon as possible. After being separated from her
father, she has no interest in remaining in the United States, even if she has a valid claim to
4
legal status here. Therefore, respecting her wishes and those of her family, my office is seeldng
5
6
7
8
9
10
Voluntary Departure on her behalf.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Minnesota and the
United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct.
DATED
this
.{(bJ/1-
day
of
,J /.:1f1&..--,
0
.AlY\ At;'P tz'-
2018
at
»
I
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF ALISON M.
GRJFFITH
2:18-CV-00939 - MJP
5
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Exhibit 30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
8
9
STATE OF WASHINGTON, et al.,
Plaintiff,
10
DECLARATION OF BITTA
MOSTOFI, COMMISSIONER,
MAYOR’S OFFICE OF
IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS
v.
11
12
NO. 18-cv-00939
DONALD TRUMP in his official capacity
as President of the United States, et al.,
13
Defendants.
14
I, Bitta Mostofi, declare as follows:
15
1.
I am over the age of 18 and state the following facts upon information and
16
belief, based upon conversations with knowledgeable parties.
17
2.
I am the Commissioner of the City of New York’s Mayor’s Office of Immigrant
18
Affairs. I have been employed by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs since 2014. In my
19
capacity as Commissioner, I provide advice and guidance to the Mayor and staff in other
20
divisions of the Mayor’s Office and other City agencies on a range of issues related to
21
immigration.
22
3.
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, established in the Charter of the City
23
of New York in 2001 by referendum, develops and implements policies designed to assist
24
immigrants across the city.1
25
26
1
NYC Charter § 18.
DECLARATION OF BITTA MOSTOFI
1
1
4.
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs also receives and responds to
2
inquiries and concerns from constituents of the City of New York, and provides assistance
3
which may include, depending on the nature and content of the inquiry, information, referrals,
4
or individual advocacy.
5
5.
On June 8, 2018, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs was contacted by a
6
constituent regarding a nine-year-old child, Edy, who was in New York City in the custody of
7
the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement after being separated from his mother after entering
8
the United States with her seeking asylum.
9
6.
Through the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs’ work in response to the
10
constituent’s request regarding Edy, we came to learn more about his situation and the
11
challenges faced by Edy and his family due to his separation from his mother.
12
7.
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs was informed by the constituent, a
13
friend of a friend of Edy’s family, that Edy and his mother had travelled to the United States
14
from their home country, Honduras, in May 2018. When Edy and his mother entered the
15
United States, they were separated by federal authorities. While Edy’s mother remained in
16
custody in Texas, Edy was taken by bus to a federally-contracted program for unaccompanied
17
immigrant children in New York City, part of the Cayuga Centers agency.
18
8.
On June 13, 2018, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs spoke with Edy’s
19
aunt in the United States, who confirmed the account provided by the constituent.
20
Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs was informed by Edy’s aunt that Edy’s mother brought
21
him to the United States seeking to protect him from threats in Honduras.
22
9.
The
During the conversation on June 13, Edy’s aunt informed the Mayor’s Office of
23
Immigrant Affairs that she had spoken to Edy’s social worker in New York City, but not yet to
24
her nephew Edy. Edy’s aunt expressed to the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs that she
25
was very concerned that she could not be sure of Edy’s well-being. Edy’s aunt also expressed
26
that she had questions and concerns about the possibility of having Edy released to her while
DECLARATION OF BITTA MOSTOFI
2
1
her sister, Edy’s mother, was still in the United States and wished to reunite with him. Edy’s
2
aunt feared that becoming Edy’s sponsor could negatively impact his mother’s ability to
3
reunite with her child.
4
10.
On June 13, 2018, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs also spoke with
5
Edy’s grandparents in Honduras.
6
Immigrant Affairs that with coordination assistance from Edy’s social worker, they had been
7
able to speak with Edy, and that when they spoke with him he seemed scared.
8
grandparents also expressed to the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs that they were afraid
9
they would lose Edy permanently.
10
11.
Edy’s grandparents informed the Mayor’s Office of
Edy’s
On June 21, 2018, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs received a message
11
from a friend of Edy’s family in Honduras, stating that the friend and Edy’s grandparents had
12
been able to speak with Edy by telephone again that day. The family friend informed the
13
Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs that Edy “seem[ed] sadder than ever – seemed like he
14
was crying the whole time.”
15
12.
After learning of Edy’s and his mother’s attempt to seek safety in the United
16
States and subsequent prolonged separation by federal authorities, the Mayor’s Office of
17
Immigrant Affairs worked with other City officials to reach out to the federal agency with
18
custody of Edy, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The goal of this outreach
19
was to gain more information about the population of children who, like Edy, had been
20
separated from their parents and placed in New York City.
21
information including the number of children in New York City, the conditions of their care,
22
their needs, and any opportunities for the City to provide support for those needs.
23
13.
The City sought to learn
During the week of June 11, 2018, City officials spoke with federal officials
24
from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and
25
Families and its sub-agency responsible for programs and contracts related to unaccompanied
26
DECLARATION OF BITTA MOSTOFI
3
1
immigrant children, the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
2
provide information sufficient to address the City’s inquiry and concerns.
3
14.
However, the officials did not
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs also worked to connect Edy, his
4
mother, and his aunt to legal representation and guidance to assist them in navigating the
5
complex federal agencies and systems responsible for separating the family and holding Edy
6
and his mother in custody thousands of miles apart. Numerous conversations with Edy’s
7
family members and many legal services providers were required to understand the needs of
8
and identify and secure representation for both Edy and his mother, neither of whom the
9
Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs could speak with directly. After extensive efforts, the
10
Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs was able to confirm full representation for Edy in New
11
York City and his mother in Texas, and connected the two attorneys so that they could
12
coordinate on behalf of mother and child.
13
15.
Since being connected to legal assistance, Edy’s family has expressed to the
14
Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs that access to this help has been a great relief in the face
15
of an extremely confusing and frightening situation for the family. Edy’s mother’s attorney
16
expressed to the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs that she feels much better knowing that
17
she and her child are being represented, and that she is extremely thankful for this.
18
16.
After learning that Edy was living in New York City in federal custody after
19
being separated from his mother at the border, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs also
20
contacted Cayuga Centers, the federally-contracted organization responsible for providing Edy
21
with foster care and other services. As with the City’s outreach to federal officials, the
22
Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs sought to learn from Cayuga Centers the number of
23
immigrant children in New York City who had been separated from their parents, the
24
conditions of their care, and what if any needs the City could support through the provision of
25
City services.
26
DECLARATION OF BITTA MOSTOFI
4
1
17.
On June 20, 2018, I and other City officials were informed by Cayuga Centers
2
staff that there were 239 immigrant children currently in the care of their agency who had been
3
separated from their families by federal authorities, a number which I understand fluctuates
4
and may vary from day to day. Based on conversations with other agencies in New York City
5
that also contract with the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement to provide foster care and other
6
services to unaccompanied immigrant children, it is my belief that there are up to 300 total
7
children separated from their families who are placed with these agencies and living in New
8
York City at any given time, and that in recent months there have been over 350 separated
9
children who have been placed in New York City.
10
18.
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and other City officials were informed
11
by Cayuga Centers that most of the immigrant children newly placed at their agency, many of
12
whom had been separated from family by federal authorities after entering the United States at
13
the southwestern border, are between ages four and twelve. The youngest child known to us at
14
this time is a nine-month-old baby, and there are multiple preverbal toddlers.
15
19.
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and other City officials were informed
16
by staff at Cayuga Centers that many children in their care who have been separated from their
17
parents by federal authorities have exhibited anxiety, depression, and other symptoms. Cayuga
18
Centers also expressed that because of the conditions in which the children currently in their
19
care were held by the Department of Homeland Security after they were apprehended at the
20
southwestern border, some arrived with illnesses and conditions such as chicken pox, lice, and
21
bedbugs.
22
20.
The City remains deeply concerned about the well-being of children who have
23
been subject to the Trump Administration’s harmful policy of separating immigrant children
24
from their parents. The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs will continue to engage closely
25
with Cayuga Centers and other agencies that provide foster care and other services to the
26
DECLARATION OF BITTA MOSTOFI
5
1
children who have been placed in New York City so that the City may remain aware of their
2
needs, and provide support wherever possible to address those needs.
3
4
5
6
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington and the
United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct.
DATED this 29th day of June, 2018 at New York, New York.
7
/s/ Bitta Mostofi
Bitta Mostofi
Commissioner
Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
City of New York
253 Broadway, 14th Floor
New York, NY 10007
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF BITTA MOSTOFI
6
Exhibit 31
Exhibit 32
Exhibit 33
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
8
9
STATE OF WASHINGTON, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
10
11
12
NO. 2:18-cv-00939
DECLARATION OF KAY BELLOR
IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF
STATES
v.
THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA, et al.,
13
Defendants.
14
I, Kay Bellor, declare as follows:
15
1.
16
17
I am the Vice President for Programs for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee
Service, Inc. (“LIRS”) and also have served as its Acting President and CEO. I am responsible
for LIRS’s programs for refugees, unaccompanied children, and migrants, including our
18
Children and Family Services Program, and have managed crisis response to historic
19
challenges to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. I have also served as the Vice President
20
for US Programs at the International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian aid agency
21
that assists refugees, other displaced persons, and survivors of natural disasters. As Associate
22
Director of Church World Service, a refugee resettlement and asylee assistance organization,
23
I coordinated all operations, including an overseas refugee processing program and 40
24
domestic resettlement offices.
25
26
DECLARATION OF KAY BELLOR IN
SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF STATES
1
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND
200 Saint Paul Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
410-576-6300
1
2.
I have worked on refugee, migrant, asylee and unaccompanied alien children’s
2
(“UAC”) issues for over 30 years. In my work, I have developed expertise in the policies and
3
programs administered by The United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Office
4
of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), and the Department of State’s Bureau of Population Refugee
5
and Migration (PRM). Through my work with LIRS’s programs, I am familiar with UAC cases
6
during the fiscal years of 2015 through 2018, including those which involved the separation of
7
families by the United States government.
8
3.
LIRS is a service provider for ORR, offering a number of different services to
9
unaccompanied alien children (UACs). LIRS works with only a small fraction of the children
10
for whom ORR provides transitional care and custody, but it does so in a variety of different
11
settings.
12
4.
When U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detains an unaccompanied
13
child, they are required to refer the child to ORR within 72 hours. ORR then places these children
14
with licensed care providers, including LIRS.
15
16
17
5.
ORR places most children over the age of ten in larger shelters, none of which
are operated by LIRS.
6.
A much smaller segment of unaccompanied children are placed by ORR in
18
transitional foster care, which provides short term care while efforts are made to reunify a child
19
with his or her family or find a longer-term placement. LIRS is one of the agencies that provides
20
such transitional foster care. Children stay in LIRS transitional foster care an average of 60 days,
21
though the length of stay has increased in recent months. LIRS work with fully licensed child
22
welfare organizations to provide transitional foster care both in group homes and with foster
23
families. Our transitional foster care sites are located in Riverside, California, Crofton,
24
Maryland, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Columbia, South Carolina. Many of the children placed
25
in ORR transitional care are children of “tender age,” usually 10 years old or younger. All of
26
DECLARATION OF KAY BELLOR IN
SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF STATES
2
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND
200 Saint Paul Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
410-576-6300
1
these sites are caring for children separated under the May 7, 2018 family separation policy
2
announced by Attorney General Sessions (“separated children”).
3
4
5
7.
While children are in transitional foster care, LIRS providers work to find
sponsors – usually family members – to whom a child can be released out of federal custody.
8.
Related to familial reunification and sponsorship, LIRS operates programs to
6
conduct home studies, provide post-release case management, conduct background checks, and
7
provide assistance with family reunification procedures. LIRS provides such services in various
8
states such as Alabama, California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland,
9
Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota,
10
11
Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Texas.
9.
When such sponsorship is not possible and it is determined that a UAC has a
12
pathway to legal status in the United States, children can be placed in long-term foster care. And
13
once legal status is obtained, a foster child would be transferred to unaccompanied refugee minor
14
(“URM”) foster care. LIRS operates long-term foster care programs for UACs as well as URM
15
foster care programs. LIRS provides long-term and/or URM foster care in Lansing, Michigan,
16
Columbia, South Carolina, Worcester, Massachusetts, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and
17
Sacramento, California.
18
10.
LIRS is the primary federal grantee for short term and long term foster care. In
19
turn, LIRS works with a national network of partners who offer trauma-informed care for
20
children who urgently need safe shelter, clothes, and counseling. These local partners are
21
identified as subgrantees on the federal grant.
22
23
24
11.
Historically most of the children over the age of ten with whom LIRS has worked
were unaccompanied because they crossed the border without a parent.
12.
More recently, however, an increasing number of these children are
25
unaccompanied because they were separated from a parent at the border. LIRS has seen a
26
dramatic increase in the number of cases of immigrant children separated from their parents in
DECLARATION OF KAY BELLOR IN
SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF STATES
3
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND
200 Saint Paul Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
410-576-6300
1
recent months, especially since the Trump Administration adopted a “zero tolerance”
2
prosecution policy. As of June 15, 2018, LIRS had served a total of 148 unaccompanied children
3
since May 2017, 59 of whom had been separated from their parents under the policy. The ages
4
of the 59 children separated from their parents at the border and sent to the LIRS network have
5
ranged from less than 12 months to 17, with an average child age of 8. Of those 16 children are
6
age 5 or younger; 43 are age 6 or older. Separation of minor children from their parents can
7
cause significant trauma, hinder psycho-social development, and cause physical harm.
8
13.
When LIRS is notified that a child in one of our transitional foster care programs
9
has been separated from a parent by the U.S. Government, we go to work through the ICE
10
Detention Reporting and Information Line to try to find the parent who has been detained. LIRS
11
was able to release 48 children to family members prior to the announcement of the “zero
12
tolerance” policy. Five family reunifications have occurred after the announcement of the
13
policy.
14
14.
If we are able to locate the parent, we help the parent understand the process for
15
their child and ask about possible family or community sponsors that could take the child into
16
their care while the parent awaits federal processing.
17
15.
A sponsor can be a biological parent, family member, or non-family member that
18
is not currently in detention. In our experience, parents with whom children have been separated
19
are treated as “sponsors” for purposes of reunification.
20
21
16.
the children in our care with family sponsors.
22
23
24
Between January 1, 2017, and June 15, 2018, LIRS has been able to place 53 of
17.
If no sponsor is identified, LIRS will seek to place the child in long-term foster
18.
Many of the parent-child separation cases LIRS currently receives are due to CBP
care.
25
referring a parent for criminal prosecution for the misdemeanor of illegal entry, without
26
considering humanitarian factors that warrant keeping a family unit together, and without taking
DECLARATION OF KAY BELLOR IN
SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF STATES
4
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND
200 Saint Paul Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
410-576-6300
1
into account whether the family has a bona fide claim for asylum. CBP refers and transfers
2
custody of the parents to the U.S. Marshall Service (USMS) for criminal prosecution—and the
3
result is that the separated child is transferred to ORR custody.
4
19.
Criminal prosecutions for illegal entry are often resolved within several weeks,
5
at which point the parent is returned to ICE custody and children could be reunited with their
6
parents. But ICE does not generally make efforts to reunite these families. Our caseworkers are
7
never informed when a parent is back in immigration custody, even though at this point, the basis
8
for separation no longer exists. After separating the parent and the child—often detaining the
9
children thousands of miles away—caseworkers often find it challenging to locate parents in
10
ICE custody, schedule calls between children and parents in ICE custody, and obtain other
11
information from parents that will assist in providing care and support to their children.
12
Caseworkers have been challenged, but generally, we have located the parents within two weeks.
13
20.
Also, because the parent is often the person who has best knowledge of any
14
immigration claims the child can bring, the separation of parent and child often hampers the
15
ability of caseworkers and attorneys to advocate and pursue immigration claims on behalf of the
16
children.
17
21.
Furthermore, separation of the child from the parent puts enormous pressure on
18
parents to give up their asylum cases, because of the emotional distress and despair the separation
19
engenders. In LIRS’s experience, this is often a very difficult choice to make for parents, as the
20
family may have fled due to real threats of persecution. Yet for a parent and child, a prolonged
21
family separation lasting many months can cause serious emotional and physical distress and
22
harm.
23
22.
Unfortunately, in those situations where a parent decides to give up their claims
24
and agrees to expedited removal, it usually takes at least several months after a parent’s
25
deportation before the child can be processed through removal proceedings and allowed to leave
26
the country. During this time the child remains in ORR custody, separated from their parent,
DECLARATION OF KAY BELLOR IN
SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF STATES
5
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND
200 Saint Paul Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
410-576-6300
1
even though the parent has been returned to their home country and wants to be reunited with
2
their child.
3
23.
LIRS program social workers have expressed concern that ICE does not
4
appreciate the urgency of trying to expedite removal proceedings in these children’s cases so
5
that they can be more promptly reunified with their parents.
6
24.
Of particular concern are children of tender age, for whom placement in foster
7
care for several months represents a significant portion of their life and can create strong
8
attachments. When these attachments need to be broken, the children experience additional
9
trauma.
10
25.
The President’s June 20 executive order appears to propose indefinite family
11
detention of children and families crossing the border between points of entry while they await
12
the outcomes of criminal and then immigration proceedings.
13
26.
For more than a decade, LIRS has worked with individuals and families in
14
detention, and reports show that this setting traumatizes families, undermines the basic family
15
structure, and has devastating psycho-social impact on children.
16
27.
Families should have the ability to live within communities and be provided with
17
case management support as they endure their immigration proceedings. There are proven and
18
effective alternatives to detention, including ICE’s own family case management program, that
19
show the government does not need to detain families in order for them to abide by immigration
20
laws.
21
28.
The following are two examples of the types of cases that LIRS is encountering.
22
23
Sophia
29.
The first story is about a girl whom I will call Sofia. In March 2018, Sofia, an
24
eight month old girl, was taken from her father when they crossed the Mexico/US border. Sofia’s
25
father, José, was detained at Rio Grande Detention Center in Laredo, Texas while Sofia was
26
transferred to an LIRS-affiliated short-term foster care program in Michigan.
DECLARATION OF KAY BELLOR IN
SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF STATES
6
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND
200 Saint Paul Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
410-576-6300
1
30.
Sofia’s foster care case manager made multiple failed attempts to contact José in
2
the detention facility. When the case manager was finally able to reach José, he shared that he
3
was extremely worried because he did not know where Sofia had been taken. Sofia was too
4
young to share information about herself, so her case worker went to work trying to locate Sofia’s
5
mother in Honduras or other family members living in the United States with very little
6
information. Sofia’s mother, Maria, described how Sofia and her father crossed the border to
7
find safety after José faced political persecution for his membership and support for a certain
8
political party. She additionally shared that about two months prior to Sofia’s journey to the
9
United States with her father, her family’s car was set aflame. Fearing further retaliation, Sofia’s
10
family arranged her journey to the United States with her father. Maria made the agonizing
11
decision that she could not take the journey with her daughter and husband because she needed
12
to remain in Honduras to care for her own ailing mother.
13
31.
After separation and while in short-term foster care, Sofia appeared irritated and
14
tired. She had also come down with a runny nose, fever and a cough. However, once she arrived
15
to her foster home and was held in the arms of her foster mom, she comfortably fell asleep.
16
While in foster care, Sofia received a routine medical screening. She was described as a happy,
17
calm and normal infant who loved to play, and ate and slept without disruptions. The stable,
18
family oriented home environment had a beneficial effect.
19
32.
Although Sofia’s father is applying for asylum based on political persecution
20
aimed at himself and his family, he made the decision for Sofia to be reunified and live with his
21
mother (Sofia’s paternal grandmother), who he described as a stable resident in the United States.
22
Sofia was ultimately released to her paternal grandmother, but it was determined that she did not
23
need post-release services, despite the fact that she was only eight months old. Post release
24
services have proven to be essential following family reunification to ensure a child’s safety and
25
well-being, and increasing the ability of caregivers to protect and supervise the child. Although
26
family reunification, when safe and appropriate, is in the child’s best interest, it can also be a
DECLARATION OF KAY BELLOR IN
SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF STATES
7
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND
200 Saint Paul Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
410-576-6300
1
highly stressful time for caregivers who need support, culturally-appropriate services, and
2
community referrals.
3
4
Catalina
33.
The second story is about a three-year-old girl from Honduras whom I will call
5
Catalina. In May 2018, Catalina crossed the border in Laredo, Texas with her father, mother and
6
nine-month-old brother. Upon apprehension, Catalina was removed from her mother’s arms,
7
while her mother and brother were separated together and the father separated and detained at
8
the Rio Grande Detention Center. Shortly after being separated from her family, Catalina was
9
placed in an LIRS short-term foster care program in Michigan. Upon arriving at the foster care
10
program, Catalina was noticeably impacted by her separation from mom, dad and brother; while
11
telling her story, Catalina was despondent, crying and easily upset. Although multiple contacts
12
were made to reach Catalina’s father in the detention facility, facility staff did not connect the
13
case manager to Catalina’s father, nor did they relay messages to her father to facilitate
14
communication.
15
34.
While in short-term foster care, Catalina has been engaged in play therapy.
16
Although she was initially reluctant to attend, crying during her first session, she has since been
17
willingly participating—playing with the sand tray, engaging with the therapist, often
18
demonstrating she is comfortable by searching for toys and instructing the clinician on what to
19
do while playing together. Overall she presents as happy and is very talkative. However, during
20
one therapy session, Catalina shared a horrific event during which she indicated she had
21
witnessed a police officer murder her grandmother. Shortly after recounting these events,
22
Catalina cried and was consoled by the therapist.
23
35.
In early June, Catalina’s mother was finally released along with her infant son
24
and made contact with the LIRS short-term foster care program. Catalina was finally able to
25
speak to her mother through a video call. She sobbed throughout the call and said she wanted to
26
be with her mom. It was a heartbreaking call for the therapist to observe, however, the mother
DECLARATION OF KAY BELLOR IN
SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF STATES
8
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND
200 Saint Paul Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
410-576-6300
1
and clinician were able to comfort and soothe Catalina. Shortly after this call, Catalina began
2
playing as usual in the sand tray, but immediately asked about her father and several minutes
3
later, Catalina began crying and sobbing again. Catalina’s foster parents are learning relaxation
4
techniques to help Catalina cope. Despite Catalina enjoying playing with her infant foster sister
5
and crying less and less at bedtime since her arrival to the program, she is unable to provide great
6
insight into her emotions, thoughts and experiences and frequently asks to go home to her mother
7
and father.
8
36.
9
10
A family friend was identified as Catalina’s potential sponsor but has not actively
participated in reunification process. At this time, Catalina remains in the LIRS short-term foster
care program until the reunification process is successfully facilitated.
11
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
12
Executed on this 29th day of June, 2018 at Baltimore, Maryland.
13
14
Kay Bellor
Vice President, Programs
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Inc.
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
DECLARATION OF KAY BELLOR IN
SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF STATES
9
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND
200 Saint Paul Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
410-576-6300
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