Four American-born siblings and their mother have been held inside a border patrol facility for more than two weeks after her arrest by federal law enforcement agents near the U.S.-Canada border.
Kenia Jackeline Merlos, her nine-year-old triplets and seven-year-old son, were visiting her sister at Peace Arch State Park in Washington state on June 28 when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents took them into custody.
Merlos’ mother, who joined the family on the trip, was also detained, but it remains unclear where she is being held.
The Department of Homeland Security accused Merlos of “attempting to smuggle illegal aliens” into the country, according to a statement. Merlos had requested that her children stay with her during her detention, the agency said.
Merlos’ husband Carlos was detained several days later outside the family’s home in Portland, Oregon. He is currently being held inside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Tacoma, Washington. The couple’s immigration status is unclear.
“What began as a simple family trip to Peace Arch Park — a place Jackie had safely visited in the past to visit family in Canada — has turned into a devastating immigration nightmare,” according to a statement from family friends helping raise money for the family’s legal defense.
Merlos’ sister, a legal resident of Canada, had stepped across the boundary while saying goodbye, “which triggered this unfounded accusation,” they said.
The family’s arrest and detention has alarmed legal advocates and members of Congress who are pressing Donald Trump’s administration for their swift release from custody. Customs and Border Protection policy largely prohibits holding people in custody for more than 72 hours.
“Every effort must be made to hold detainees for the least amount of time required for their processing, transfer, release, or repatriation as appropriate and as operationally feasible,” according to CPB guidelines.
“Trump said he would go after ‘the worst of the worst.’ Instead, his immigration machine is abducting Oregonians without cause — including four U.S. citizen children in my district,” said Democratic Rep. Maxine Dexter, who accused CBP of misleading her office about the family’s location.
The congresswoman confirmed that Merlos, who is originally from Honduras, and her children were being held inside a detention center near Ferndale, Washington, during a visit to the facility last week. She was not able to speak with the family but did enter the facility and see them.
“It is wholly unprecedented for CBP to detain any individual for weeks without cause — let alone four U.S. citizens,” Dexter said in a statement. “This is what authoritarianism looks like. Citizen children abducted. Community members disappeared. If we allow this to become normal, we surrender who we are. We cannot look away. We cannot back down.”
Merlos has not been charged with a crime. Federal immigration authorities have not provided any documents to support allegations against her, according to attorney Jill Nedved.
Family friend Mimi Lettunich, who is also a godparent to her youngest child, said Merlos sent her a text message after she was brought into custody. “Mimi, I’ve been detained,” the message said, Lettunich told Oregon Public Broadcasting.
“I’ve known them about 20 years,” Lettunich said. “They’re wonderful people.”
The Merlos family is “the kind of people we want in our community,” Dexter said in a statement on social media. “Kind, hardworking, small business owners, and devoted to their neighbors. The kind of people we are proud to call ours.”
Over the last two weeks, the family has been held “in a windowless cell, without access to legal counsel,” according to Dexter. “Treated not as citizens, not as children, but as threats.”
The Trump administration’s aggressive anti-immigration agenda has deployed virtually every federal law enforcement agency to support immigration enforcement operations across the country. Nearly 60,000 people are currently in immigration detention centers, and the president has approved legislation that earmarks tens of billions of dollars over the next decade to expand detention center capacity and hire more immigration officers.
The Independent has requested additional comment from Homeland Security.
