July 5, 2021

A report from the Kino Border Initiative (KBI) and NETWORK discussed a Guatemalan family’s conditions in Border Patrol custody while seeking, without success, to seek asylum in Arizona.

A Guatemalan woman and her two young daughters entered the United States through the desert and encountered a Border Patrol agent. They were detained and moved to a facility with cold rooms. Then they were transferred to Tucson.

There, she told an agent that she had injured her foot while walking in the desert and needed medical attention. The agent agreed, but then she walked away and never came back. She was never given any medical attention.

They were made to sit in the chairs at the Tucson facility; the children could not sleep. At the facility, they were forced to take off any extra clothing and allowed to wear only a t-shirt and pants. Her daughter was shivering. They asked for blankets but were given only one small one many hours later. She tried to tell agents she wanted to seek asylum, but no one listened to her.

The next morning the family was expelled to Nogales, Sonora.

KBI filed a July 23, 2021 complaint with the DHS Office on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) and the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). On August 5, CRCL emailed “that they received the complaint and forwarded it to the OIG. 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

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Conditions in Custody, Denial of Medical Care, Denial of Protection to Most Vulnerable

Accountability Status: Complaint Filed with CRCL, Complaint Filed with OPR, Shared with DHS OIG

Victim Classification: Family Unit, Guatemala, Medical Condition