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In Juarez, Lilia* & Yasmin* from Cuba, found the Trump Admin turning away asylum seekers at the U.S. port of entry. They put their names on the CBP "metering" list. Weeks into their wait men targeting migrants kidnapped & repeatedly raped Lilia & Yasmin. humanrightsfirst.org/sites/default/…
After their families paid a ransom, Lilia & Yasmin lived in fear for weeks before their turn to request asylum. “We thought that when we entered the United States, we’d finally be safe,” Yasmin said. Instead, DHS returned them to Mexico under the #MigrantPersecutionProtocols
CBP officers ignored their fear of being sent back to Mexico. A CBP officer told Yasmin that whatever had happened there “did not matter.” She recalled that CBP officers “said we had no rights.” One said to her, “‘It’s better to give Cubans $20 and send them back to Cuba.’”
CBP returned Lilia & Yasmin to Mexico under MPP to wait months for their first hearing despite the evident danger for them. Yet CBP processed Yasmin's common-law husband through the expedited removal process & sent him to U.S. detention, where he had a credible fear interview.
Returned to Juarez by CBP, Yasmin told @humanrights1st, “we feel totally destroyed… I’m afraid of the men who kidnapped and raped us… we almost never go out… We’re still in hiding… I’m afraid that what happened to me before will happen to me again.”
Lilia & Yasmin connected w/@LindaYRivas of @LasAmericasIAC - one of very few U.S. immigration attorneys assisting asylum seekers in Juarez. She was able to press CBP for a fear screening, but she was not allowed to attend or even monitor the interview by phone.
After finally receiving a fear screening, Lilia & Yasmin were removed from MPP. But their odyssey is not over. Lilia & Yasmin have been detained for weeks waiting to receive credible fear interviews so that they can file their asylum applications & request parole from detention.
