9 year old girl was detained by border officer for being illegal despite having proper paperwork on her proving her citizenship.
Though she’s an American, Medina’s family lives in Tijuana, and they cross the border each morning to get to school. On a Monday morning, CBP detained her and her 14-year-old brother, Oscar, saying she didn’t look like the photo in her passport, according to NBC San Diego. CBP said the elementary student, who was questioned without her parents present, “provided inconsistent information during her inspection.” The agency reportedly had no explanation for why it took 32 hours to confirm her citizenship and release her, though in that time they accused her brother, who is also a U.S. citizen, of human smuggling and tried to have him sign a document saying his sister was his cousin. Medina was finally released after her mother pleaded with the Mexican consulate to contact U.S. immigration authorities.
How many of us walked around with proof of citizenship as 9 year olds? How many conservative parents here would be fine with their 4th grade daughter spending almost a day and a half locked up for no reason or their teenage son accused of committing multiple crimes just for walking his sister to school?
I would ask you then to be mindful the next time someone mentions the very real phenomena of white privilege.
“Inconsistent Information” can and should raise suspicion.
Not all genuine documents are obtained legally.
It takes time to verify if the original documents that were used to obtain the genuine documents were valid.
Too bad, she had to drink water from the toilet while detained.
Trying to enforce our laws.
However, if Congress wishes to provide more funding for our border safety to increase training and hire the best people, it may be worth it.
Otherwise, people who cross the border regularly may be at risk of being temporarily stopped.
According to the New York Times article, CBP agents were following protocols to protect children that are potential victims of human smuggling and sex trafficking of minors. Seems like a reasonable protocol But 30 hours is excessive.
The flipside of this scenario would be a story where a nine-year-old girl was found dead as a victim of sex trafficking and people will be outraged wondering how she was smuggled into the country. There is a reason these protocols exist when minors present themselves and their statements don’t add up.
A federal official with knowledge of the case who was not authorized to speak about it said the 9-year-old had provided inaccurate information to border agents, which prompted a series of protocols that agents were required to conduct. The need to go through that process and ensure that the girl was not a victim of human trafficking contributed to the length of her detainment, the official said.
Eventually, border agents confirmed that the teenager was a United States citizen and he was permitted to enter the country, Mr. DeSio said. Then, around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the 9-year-old girl was admitted to the United States and released to her mother after the authorities confirmed her identity and her citizenship, Mr. DeSio said.
“C.B.P. prioritizes the safety of the minors we encounter,” he said. “It’s important that C.B.P. officials positively confirm the identity of a child traveling without a parent or legal guardian.”
Her passport pictures does look significantly different than her current look.
