According to Senator Bob Casey, a young mother and child who sought asylum from horrific violence and human rights abuses in Honduras have been ordered deported despite not being able to present their full case in front of an immigration judge. Mother and child fled Honduras to the United States after witnessing the murder of a cousin and being pursued by gangs. The family had sought review by the U.S. Supreme Court while being held in an immigration detention facility in Berks County, Pennsylvania, but were denied.
Amnesty International USA launched a campaign in March urging Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release several other families with young children being detained at the Berks County Residential Center in Pennsylvania.
“Deporting this family is heartless and a flagrant violation of human rights,” said Naureen Shah, senior director of campaigns at Amnesty International USA. “This young mother and child have the right to present their cases to an immigration judge before they are sent back to certain danger. By putting them on a plane, the U.S. government could be sending them to their deaths. They will be in urgent and immediate danger of being targeted and killed as soon as they step foot in Honduras. It is profoundly cruel to deny this mother and child their day in court.”