[A press conference will be held at noon on Thursday, December 19 in the Rose Garden at the Arizona State Capitol .]
Phoenix – On Nov. 21, 2019, 23 state representatives signed a letter to ICE officers in support of a request for parole for a young woman from Guatemala named Maria so she could be reunited with her 6-year-old niece, “Flor.” Maria and Flor were separated when they presented themselves at the Arizona border to request asylum at Lukeville in March of 2019.
Maria is being held in Eloy while Flor was flown to New York where she remains in custody. They fled Guatemala after many years of violence and threats directed against their family. On Monday ICE denied Maria’s request for parole release. According to ICE, her release was "not in the public interest.” The elected officials and more than 200 faith leaders who signed in support of the parole request disagree.
"We are deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of all people within our state, including refugees in federal custody. Children clearly belong with their families," said Rep. Kelli Butler, who authored the November letter to ICE and who will lead Thursday's press conference.
First Church UCC Phoenix Senior Pastor James Pennington added that he is "greatly troubled" that ICE appears to be separating families and holding children hostage so that desperate adults will give up their legal claims for asylum here in the United States.
“This is the definition of inhumane treatment,” Pennington said. “ICE should never separate families, and it’s beyond cruel at Christmas, when all families should be together.”
Pastor Pennington was one of over 200 faith leaders from Tucson, Phoenix and nationwide who also wrote letters to ICE officials in support of Maria’s request for parole.
In the past, more than 90 percent of those in Maria’s situation might have been released to sponsors while their claims were considered by the court. Now, that number has plummeted to around 4 percent, in some places, it’s zero.
“This is heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time,” said Maria’s attorney, Suzannah Maclay. “After the trauma these children have already experienced, separation from those who love and care for them leads to unconscionable suffering and irreparable harm. Taxpayers should not be asked to subsidize any U.S. agency in separating and detaining families like Maria’s, when, as here, effective and cost-efficient alternatives to detention exist, and we have a U.S. sponsor with the necessary economic resources and a willing and capable support community available.”
Maria and her niece sought asylum in the United States following the murders of their immediate family members in Guatemala, and after multiple threats against their own lives. Flor was orphaned as an infant. Maria raised her as her own child.
Over the nine months since they presented at the Port of Entry seeking asylum, Maria has been held in ICE detention in Eloy, while Flor has been in ORR custody in New York, still separated from her aunt. An article in The Guardian told their story and brought this case to the public’s attention.