Like I'm Drowning
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HUMAN RIGHTS “Like I’m Drowning” WATCH Children and Families Sent to Harm by the US ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program “Like I’m Drowning” Children and Families Sent to Harm by the US ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program Copyright © 2021 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-62313-8868 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org JANUARY 2021 ISBN: 978-1-62313-8868 “Like I’m Drowning” Children and Families Sent to Harm by the US ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program Map of the US-Mexico Border ............................................................................................ i Glossary .......................................................................................................................... ii Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1 Recommendations ........................................................................................................... 9 To the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) .................................................................. 9 To the US Department of Justice .............................................................................................. 11 To the US Department of State ................................................................................................ 12 To the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .................................................................. 12 To the US Congress ................................................................................................................. 12 To the Mexican Government .................................................................................................... 13 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 15 I. “Remain in Mexico” .................................................................................................... 18 Rollout of the Program ........................................................................................................... 20 Unaccompanied Children Sent to Mexico ................................................................................ 22 Family Separation Under the MPP ........................................................................................... 23 Arbitrary, Distant Transfers ..................................................................................................... 24 The Ordeal of Getting to Court ................................................................................................. 25 Due Process Failures ............................................................................................................... 27 Lack of Access to Counsel ............................................................................................... 28 Impediments Caused by Video Hearings ........................................................................... 30 Inaccurate Notices ........................................................................................................... 31 Procedural Short-Circuits .................................................................................................. 33 Fake Court Dates .............................................................................................................. 37 Detention in Cold, Overcrowded Holding Cells ........................................................................ 39 Abusive Immigration Agents ................................................................................................... 41 The Uneven Response to the Pandemic ................................................................................... 42 II. Illusory Safeguards Against Return to Harm ............................................................... 46 Near Impossibility of Success in Nonrefoulement Interviews ................................................... 47 Requests for Interviews Ignored ........................................................................................ 50 Due Process Shortcomings ............................................................................................... 51 Absurd Outcomes............................................................................................................. 55 Humanitarian Exemptions Rarely Granted ............................................................................... 57 Sent to Danger ....................................................................................................................... 62 Abducted and Ordered Deported in Absentia ......................................................................... 66 Nonrefoulement Interviews and Humanitarian Exemptions Suspended .................................. 69 III. Lives in Limbo ........................................................................................................... 70 Overcrowded Shelters and Informal Camps ............................................................................. 70 Overstretched Health Care Services ........................................................................................ 75 A Year or More Without School ................................................................................................ 79 Challenges in Finding Work .................................................................................................... 82 Mexico’s Underfunded Refugee Protection System ................................................................. 82 IV. Damage to Mental Health .......................................................................................... 85 V. The Trump Administration’s Attack on Asylum ............................................................ 92 VI. US Violations of Domestic and International Law ....................................................... 97 The Prohibition on Returns to Torture or Other Ill-Treatment ................................................... 98 US Asylum Law ..................................................................................................................... 100 Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................... 102 Map of the US-Mexico Border © 2020 John Emerson for Human Rights Watch i Glossary ACA Asylum Cooperative Agreement BIA Board of Immigration Appeals, the branch of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) that hears administrative appeals of the decisions of immigration judges. The EOIR is an agency of the US Department of Justice, and BIA decisions may be overturned by the Attorney General. Border Patrol The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency responsible for immigration enforcement at land borders other than at official border stations (“ports of entry”). CAIM Migrant Assistance Center (Centro de Atención a Migrantes), a facility established by the Chihuahua state government to assist Mexican nationals and migrants arriving in Ciudad Juárez from the United States. CBP US Customs and Border Protection, the branch of the US Department of Homeland Security that includes the Border Patrol and the Office of Field Operations. CDC US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CFI Credible fear interview, a procedure for people who have entered the United States without valid travel documents, are apprehended at or near a border crossing, and state that they are afraid to return to their home countries. In such cases, if an asylum officer finds a significant possibility of persecution, the person is allowed to apply for asylum before an immigration judge. (If the person has returned to the United States after being deported, they receive a “reasonable fear interview.”) ii COESPO Consejo Estatal de Población (State Population Council), an agency of state governments in Mexico that is responsible for the development and oversight of public policy in areas such as health, education, and social development, including among groups such as women, Indigenous peoples, people living with disabilities, migrants, children and adolescents, and older persons. COMAR Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comisión Mexicana de Ayuda a Refugiados), the government agency that adjudicates applications for refugee recognition and complementary protection. coyote A slang term for a person who engages in the smuggling of migrants. DACA Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals DHS US Department of Homeland Security DOJ US Department of Justice EOIR Executive Office for Immigration Review, the agency of the US Department of Justice that includes the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals. HARP The “Humanitarian Asylum Review Process,” a pilot program