ICE deported Ana and her 11 year old daughter after holding them in a prison that incarcerates immigrant families for a year. Now it wants to put them back in detention.

They came to the US to apply for asylum, fleeing domestic violence in Guatemala. The violence Ana experienced in her past has left her with PTSD, serious anxiety, migraines, depression and physical pain, all of which have been exacerbated by her and her daughter’s prolonged detention.

In detention, Ana and her daughter witnessed the sexual assault of another young woman by a staff member and experienced their own abuse. Following the incidents, her daughter became suicidal and depressed, moving Ana to be one of the women who launched a work strike with 9 other women, refusing to work for $1 per day and demanding their immediate release.

On June 19th at three in the morning Ana and her daughter were ripped from their beds in Berks by ICE, an act many other women believe was done to frighten the strikers. By 10 am that same day both Ana and her daughter were wrongfully deported, as they were still in process in their asylum case.

Once the judge had discovered ICE had wrongfully deported Ana and her daughter, he demanded the deportation be halted immediately and that Ana and her daughter be returned. Yet, they were dropped off in Guatemala by ICE without any money and nowhere near their hometown, placing them in eminent danger. Since being back in Guatemala, they have been hiding and living in fear.

Both Ana and her daughter have passed their credible fear interviews. In ICE’s own words, when a family has passed these interviews in an asylum case “long term detention is inefficient… & should be discontinued.” Then why is it seeking to put her and her daughter BACK in detention again?

Because they were wrongfully deported during their asylum application process and considering the immense psychological trauma they have been exposed to while in detention, please sign the petition asking that Ana and her daughter, upon their return to the US, be released to their family and not be returned to Berks.