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 The lawyers, representing women and children being held at the
detention center in Artesia, 170 miles (275 km) from El Paso, Texas,
say the government has for the last two months routinely argued
against granting bond.
In a July 15 affidavit obtained by Reuters, the Department of
Homeland Security argues against their release. Lawyers representing
the migrants say that since then, the affidavit has been submitted
at nearly all bond hearings before immigration judges.
In the affidavit, Philip Miller, assistant director of Enforcement
and Removal Operations, writes: "I have concluded that
implementation of a 'no bond' or 'high bond' policy would
significantly reduce the unlawful mass migration of Guatemalans,
Hondurans and Salvadoran(s)."
Gillian Christensen, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, said on Thursday the administration feared that if the
detainees were to be set free on bond, they might not show up for
further deportation proceedings.
The New Mexico detention center is one of several set up to house
women and children who have surged across the border to escape the
rampant poverty and domestic- and gang-related violence of
Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
NO 'NO-BOND' POLICY-OFFICIAL
Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
denied at a news conference on Tuesday that the department was
uniformly opposed to the release of Artesia detainees.
"The authorities are implementing bond measures that are based on
the individualized determination as well as a more macro appeal.
There is not an across-the-board no-bond policy," Mayorkas said. He
said the administration was reviewing its bond approach.
More than 66,000 parents traveling with their children have crossed
the Southwest U.S. border in the 11 months ending Aug. 31, up from
12,908 over the same period the previous year. Women among these
parents are held at Artesia with their children.
President Barack Obama has come under pressure from Hispanic
American supporters who assail a policy of deporting Central
Americans. Some have dubbed him “deporter in chief” and warned of
the violence deportees will face on their return home.
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Republicans favor strict measures and many of Obama's fellow
Democrats fear any lifting of limits could hurt them with voters in
congressional elections on Nov. 4. A Reuters/Ipsos poll last month
found that 70 percent of Americans believed that immigrants
threatened the country's beliefs and 63 percent that they burdened
the economy.
When bonds are granted in Artesia, they are usually around $25,000,
well above the national norm of $5,200, attorney Laura Lichter, who
represents detainees in Artesia, said on Tuesday.
In the past migrants screened by Homeland Security agents within 72
hours who had no criminal record and proved a "credible fear" of
returning home were released while building a case for asylum, but
not anymore, lawyers for the detainees said.
Lichter cited the case of a woman client who fears returning to her
home in El Salvador and suffers from gallstones that have gone
untreated by doctors in the facility for more than a month. Though
U.S. law dictates that immigrant detainees suffering from serious
medical conditions be released, the woman has remained in detention,
Lichter said.
"Remember, these are detainees without any criminal history, who
have established that they have a winnable asylum claim, most of
whom have relatives, friends or other support in the U.S. upon
release," said Lichter. "This is unconscionable."
(Reporting by Julia Edwards; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan;
Editing by Howard Goller)
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