Mid-September 2022

The Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative (KBI) related the expulsion of a Honduran mother and children seeking to escape sexual abuse and prolonged captivity, even after Border Patrol agents gave her hope of being able to seek asylum.

Heydi [name changed to protect privacy] and her 2 daughters fled Honduras where a member of organized crime had held Heydi captive for the past 10 years and forced her to have children with him. When BP apprehended Heydi and her daughters in the desert, she showed an agent evidence that she had been held captive and explained that she wanted to seek asylum. He only said, “okay.” On the bus to Tucson, she approached an agent that she noticed spoke Spanish well and explained her situation. He asked to see the evidence, read over the papers and told her to show them to the agents in Tucson so that they could help her. Once in Tucson, she asked the agent processing her how she could request asylum. He responded, “No, we can’t help you.” That same day, Heydi and her daughters were expelled to Nogales, Sonora, where they live in fear of being deported to Honduras, as they have no authorization to stay in Mexico.

— “September 15 update from KBI” (Nogales: Kino Border Initiative, September 15, 2022).

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

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

Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Domestic or Gender-Based Violence Victim, Family Unit, Female, Honduras