February 1, 2021

A report from the Kino Border Initiative (KBI) and NETWORK told of a Guatemalan woman, fleeing violence with her two-year-old child, whom Border Patrol expelled into Mexico twice in two weeks without providing a chance to make her case for asylum.

The woman has photo evidence of violence that she has faced in Guatemala. She requested asylum the first time she crossed the border [January 15, 2021], but the agents only listened to the unaccompanied minors in the facility and did not speak to the adults or ask questions. She tried showing agents her documentation to no avail.

The second time [February 1, 2021], she and her daughter were taken to two different border facilities, and each time she was denied the opportunity to speak. She said that a man in a black uniform attempted to speak to them but was asked not to by male agents in green uniforms. She was expelled to Nogales, Sonora.

KBI filed a February 15, 2021 complaint with the DHS Office on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) and the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). On February 25, CRCL emailed “that they received the complaint, recorded it in their database, and no further actions would be taken. No details were provided about disciplinary actions for officers or recourse for victims of abuse.”

Due Process Denied (United States: Kino Border Initiative (KBI) and NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, August 2021) https://networklobby.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/KINO-NETWORK-CBP-Abuses-consolidated.pdf.

Sector(s): Tucson, Yuma

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Denial of Protection to Most Vulnerable

Accountability Status: Complaint Filed with CRCL, Complaint Filed with OPR, No Further Action

Victim Classification: Family Unit, Guatemala