A girl living in central Minnesota alleges that immigration authorities separated her from her family and detained her overnight in a hotel, where she was forced to share a room with federal agents.
The teen entered the United States legally as a refugee.
The teen revealed in the filing that she lives in St. Cloud and is a junior in high school. She came to the United States in 2023 with her mother, father and four younger siblings.
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She said that the agents handcuffed her in the street and forced her to abandon her father’s vehicle, which he relies on as a ride share driver.
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The family is not accused of any criminal wrongdoing. Their attorney (said)
The teen spent the night of Jan. 13 at the hotel with two agents. Drake said that both agents were female.
The girl writes that she had her own bed, but not her own room. She does not allege that the agents sexually or physically abused her. And she does not name the hotel where she was imprisoned.
The agents returned her to the federal building the next day, where Drake (attorney) picked her up around midday.
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The teen has joined the class action lawsuit with many other refugees that ICE illegally arrested and detained them as part of Operation PARRIS.
I am glad she wasn’t sexually assaulted, as I was expecting to learn from this.
From the congressional hearings today I learned that one reason they detain legal refugees is to pressure them to self-deport. Legal refugees have gone through extensive screening, often times for years. This is not the “worst of the worst”.
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