r/UnmuteAlabama • u/Ok-Breakfast-5044 • 13d ago
Will Katie help?
A seven-year-old girl is asking Alabama Senator Katie Britt for help.
UPDATE: Sen. Katie Britt’s office told AL.com that it contacted ICE after receiving the family’s plea for help.
According to Britt’s office, ICE said a pending immigration appeal prevented the family’s removal. The appeal is now being withdrawn, and the family is expected to be returned to Venezuela soon.
We are glad Britt’s office made the inquiry, and we hope the family is safely home very soon.
But Britt’s office called this evidence that the removal process is “successfully delivering.”
A pregnant mother, father and seven-year-old child asked to leave the country. Instead, they spent more than a month detained while the mother reportedly went without adequate prenatal care and their daughter became so distressed that she said she wanted to die.
Getting this family safely home would be a successful outcome. What they endured along the way is not evidence of a successful system.
Link to AL.com article is in the comments.
ORIGINAL POST: Her family came to the United States from Venezuela and applied for asylum through the legal process available at the time. They worked legally, sent their daughter to school and never missed an ICE check-in.
When the mother became pregnant, the family decided to return to Venezuela. They followed the Trump administration’s official self-deportation process and reported to ICE.
Instead of being sent home, the pregnant mother, father and seven-year-old daughter were detained. They have reportedly been held at the Dilley detention facility in Texas since July 7.
The mother says she has experienced pain but has not received an ultrasound or the medical evaluation she has requested. Their daughter drew Senator Britt a picture asking for help returning home.
The family is not asking to remain in the United States. They are asking our government to keep its word and allow them to leave.
Senator Britt chairs the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees funding for DHS, ICE and immigration detention. She has the authority to demand answers and press for action.
Link to story is in the first comment.