ACLU of Washington is looking into the case of a family of six from Africa, seeking asylum in the United States, who were detained in a windowless cell for nearly a month at the border crossing in Blaine, Wash.
The family was among a group of asylum seekers who came through Riverton Park United Methodist church in Tukwila. Over the past several years, the church has worked to house asylum seekers in the region, including those from Angola, Congo, and Venezuela.
Troy Brynelson, with Oregon Public Broadcasting, has been reporting on this story. He talked with KNKX Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick.
Click "Listen" above to hear their conversation and find Troy Brynelson's story here.
Transcript
Note: This transcript is provided for reference only and may contain typos. Please confirm accuracy before quoting.
KNKX Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick: The family you reported on was trying to cross the border into Canada. What can you tell us about them?
Brynelson: Yeah, so this is a family of six. Two parents and four children. They hail from a southwestern African country that we're not naming because they fear political persecution — same reason why we're not saying their names.
They arrived to the United States a little bit more than a year ago, and that's where they landed like you were just mentioning at the Riverton Park United Methodist Church. Through that, encampment, they were able to get to this apartment in North Seattle.
And we're told that the family was fearing deportation, and that's why they fled to Blaine to try to cross into Canada. That's where they were nabbed by Customs and Border Protection.
Kendrick: And you talked to the mother in this family who is in the third trimester of another pregnancy, her fifth child. What did she tell you about the conditions the family was held in?
Brynelson: When we talked to the mother, she described the holding room that they were in like a jail cell. They were there for more than three weeks, 24 days, and there was a single toilet that the family had to share.
While we don't have a lot of visual representation here, they described it as their 13-year-old child could lay down head to toe and almost touch both walls. Because there were only two benches, the older children slept on the benches while the mother and father and younger children slept on the floor. And it got to a state after several days where the 13-year-old was reportedly threatening self-harm.
And, according to the mother, she was banging on the doors trying to get attention from the agents of Customs and Border Protection, and they were largely ignored.
Kendrick: So what led up to the family being released, Troy?
Brynelson: So we're told that some community members discovered that the family was in this holding room for a prolonged period and they started taking that information to immigrants' rights organizations and state lawmakers and federal lawmakers.
And it was after those groups began asking Customs and Border Protection for more information about this family that Customs and Border Protection in the middle of May just decided to release them back to their North Seattle apartment.
Kendrick: And now the ACLU of Washington has stepped in. Why are they involved?
Brynelson: So they're investigating for civil rights claims potentially.
Their organization has says that there's been an uptick in detentions at the northern border this year since the Trump administration began. And we also know that Customs and Border Protection has been trying to rewrite a lot of its policies. This is an organization, like ICE, that's at the forefront of Trump's deportation strategy.
The head of Customs and Border Protection last month rescinded four Biden era policies that are all designed to protect or ensure better standards of care for pregnant people. And they're also asking a federal judge to end oversight into the policies that they use to detain children.
Kendrick: What has Customs and Border Protection said about the family's case?
Brynelson: Customs and Border Protection says that they did everything by the book.
They did not address our follow-up questions when we asked about whether or not they were ignoring the family. They just said instead that they were monitoring the room for general welfare. That means checking it for temperature and cleanliness. And they said that they did everything by the book.
Kendrick: So what's next for this family?
Brynelson: Well, the ACLU of Washington is going to continue to investigate their claims. It's going to take some time, I think, before we see anything come out of that. And the family meanwhile back at their apartment is going to continue seeking asylum.
Kendrick: All right, Troy, thank you for your reporting on this.
Brynelson: Thanks for having me.
Kendrick: That was Troy Brynelson with our Northwest News Network partner, Oregon Public Broadcasting.
