Thread by @ReichlinMelnick

People have wondered what the interview process to get out of Remain in Mexico/MPP is like for people who express a fear of returning to Mexico.

Declarations just filed in @sdACLU's new lawsuit against MPP contain disturbing details on how these interviews are a farce.

Thread:

T/W for this thread.

The plaintiffs are a mom and dad from Guatemala. After the dad refused to pay gang members who were trying to extort him, their 17-year-old daughter was kidnapped and raped on her way home from school by men who said it was her dad's fault for not paying.

Weeks after this horrific incident, the family decides to flee Guatemala.Their only thought was surviving and protecting their children.

As the mom said, "If this were not about keeping [my children] alive and safe, we would never have left our country... our home."

The whole family fled together; mom, dad, and five kids—including their 9-year-old son who may have leukemia.

Unfortunately, the trip to the US was dangerous. On their way here, men dressed as Mexican police kidnapped, robbed, and assaulted them. They were traumatized even more.

In August the family crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and immediately asked for asylum. At the Border Patrol station the dad was separated and locked in a dirty cell.

The dad reports being verbally degraded and denied any information about his wife and kids.

Meanwhile, the mom was locked in a different cell, which she describes as "cold and dirty," with her children. They only food given was cold burritos.

Because the ill 9-year-old needs a specialized diet, the mom asked for different food. She got screamed at for asking.

After two days in Border Patrol custody, the family was released and sent back to Mexico with court dates to appear in San Diego the next month. They were never told they could express their fear of returning back to Mexico.

Over the next month, they waited in fear in Tijuana.

They family had a court hearing on September 3rd. But they had to arrive at court so early in the morning (3AM) that the only way they could get there safely was to sleep overnight outside the port of entry.

This means that by the time they arrived in court, they were exhausted.

At then end of court, both the mom and dad expressed a fear of returning to Mexico, meaning DHS had to interview them to determine whether there was a "clear probability" that they would be persecuted or tortured in Mexico.

But as they found out, the interview was a farce.

After the family expressed a fear of returning to Mexico in court, they were taken back to the same Border Patrol station where they'd been mistreated a month earlier. Like before, the dad was immediately separated.

But the treatment was even worse this time.

The dad had his interview first. An officer arrived at his cell and handcuffed him behind his back. He was taken to a windowless cell and put on the telephone with an Asylum Officer.

He was in handcuffs the whole time, so he couldn't even raise his hand to swear to the truth.

Throughout the entire interview, Border Patrol officers sat inside the cell with him, listening to him talk about the worst moments in his life, including the rape of his daughter.

They chatted, joked to themselves in English, and at times would laugh when he was speaking.

The dad describes the entire interview process as "a horrible experience." He was forced to answer every question only with a yes or no, denying him the ability to explain things. He was so distracted and nervous from the guards that he forgot basic details.

He was denied.

Meanwhile, the mom and children also had a horrible experience. Like before, they had no idea where the dad was or what was happening.

They were served rotten food they had to throw away. The cold was so bad the mom had a hard time breathing.

When the mom and kids had their interviews, at least they were not handcuffed. But male Border Patrol officers again sat down during the interview and watched them the entire time. The mom did not feel comfortable with him there.

During the interview, the officers got hot coffee and food delivered. The mom and kids had barely eaten in days. They were incredibly distracted by the food, which they didn't get.

Once again, they were told only to answer yes or no. They weren't allowed to explain anything.

To no surprise, like the dad, the mom and kids were denied and sent back to Mexico.

In total, the family was held in CBP custody three days for this interview. They were unable to call anyone during that time.

The interview process was so traumatic that at their second court hearing, the family chose not to express a fear of returning to Mexico—even though between the first and second hearing, the dad was robbed at gunpoint in Tijuana.

That's how much of a farce this process is.

Yesterday, the family became the lead plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to require CBP to provide access to counsel during these interviews. Because even those who have lawyers still get treated like this.

You can read the family's declarations here. aclusandiego.org/aclu-asylum-se…