Thread by @RAICESTEXAS

URGENT: More family separation happening at the border. This time our client, a vulnerable 15 yr old girl how came to the US as an infant, was taken by @CBP after arresting her aunt at a hospital. She was taken after surgery & tested positive for COVID-19.
cbsnews.com/news/15-year-o…

The minor was taken to Edinburg hospital because of pain caused by a gallbladder stone. She was accompanied by her aunt. Someone notified CBP about them. They showed up at the hospital and took her aunt. The minor was then left alone.

Shortly after, she was transported in an ambulance to the San Antonio hospital with agents following them while the parents were not present. The hospital called the parents to say she was going to be transferred to San Antonio to have surgery.

Regardless of the surgery and testing positive for COVID-19, the 15-year-old was immediately transferred to a Border Patrol holding facility. These facilities are known as “hieleras” or “ice chests” because of how cold they are.

She was transferred to an ORR facility and is currently detained there. This minor must be released to her parents immediately. The law requires that unaccompanied minors in DHS custody be “promptly placed in the least restrictive setting that is in the child's best interest."

While a determination must be made whether a proposed custodian is capable of providing for the child’s physical and mental well-being, such concerns are absent here. The child has lived with her parents in the United States since the age of six months.

They provide a loving, stable home for the minor and have not engaged in any activity that would indicate a potential risk to her. The law supports the immediate release of this extremely vulnerable child to her parents. She must be released now. #DontLookAway

@CBP *who came.