"Because I can't trust anyone—not the authorities, not the government, not a police officer. They will kill anyone here. There is death everywhere. Oscar had fled Honduras in 2023, along with his wife Ana and their two young children. Now, at least, Ana and their two kids were safe in the US. But Oscar was back, alone and fearing for his life."
"Oscar's case shows the extreme lengths the US government is willing to go to deport some asylum seekers. US immigration officials detained Oscar just 11 days before his family's scheduled asylum hearing, and swiftly moved him from Maryland—where the family lived—to a detention center in Louisiana. Then, the government moved to sever his asylum case from his family's—arguing that because his mailing address was at the detention center in Louisiana, he should no longer be considered a member of Ana's household."
"Now I'm left at the mercy of—of who? said Oscar, speaking to the Guardian on the phone, from his hiding place. I'm at the mercy of God and his will. Oscar's case shows the extreme lengths the US government is willing to go to deport some asylum seekers."
Oscar fled Honduras in 2023 with his wife Ana and two children seeking asylum in the US. Eleven days before the family's asylum hearing, immigration officials detained Oscar and transferred him to Louisiana, then severed his case from his family's by claiming his detention center address disqualified him as a household member. When Oscar attempted independent asylum application, DHS petitioned to deny it and deport him to Guatemala, though he was ultimately sent to Honduras instead. Now hiding in Honduras and visiting his mother only at night, Oscar fears for his life in a country he describes as filled with death and danger, while his family remains safe in the US.
#asylum-deportation #immigration-enforcement #family-separation #honduras-violence #us-immigration-policy
Read at www.theguardian.com
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