May 03, 2017
Sen. Bob Casey implored the Trump administration to reverse a federal decision to deport a mother and her 5-year-old son to Honduras, despite the boy's eligibility for protected refugee status, claiming the family faces a "death sentence" there.
In a lengthy series of tweets Wednesday, the two-term Democrat from Pennsylvania told the story of a young mother and her son who had been held at a facility in Berks County prior to receiving the sudden deportation order by the Trump administration.
Twitter: it's urgent. I just found out that a young child & her mother who came to U.S. seeking refuge will be sent back to Honduras today.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
This mother & child are being held at a facility in Berks county & are being sent into danger despite the child being eligible for relief.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Here's their story: the 5yr old's mother witnessed the murder of her cousin in Honduras and was being pursued by gangs.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Targeted for death, this mother fled with her 5yr old child. The child is potentially eligible for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Despite that, the Trump admin is planning to put them on a plane TODAY. A plane ride that can very likely lead to their death.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
The gangs will target this mother and her child the moment they land in Honduras, yet Trump admin insists on this cruel policy.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
I just had a picture of this 5yr old come across my desk. He's adorable and wrote that he had "nowhere to go."
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
I've just placed a call to @DHSgov Sec. telling him to stop this. I need you to tweet @DHSgov & tell them to protect this mother and child.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
.@realDonaldTrump If you're on twitter- Call @DHSgov Sec. Kelly and tell him this makes no sense.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
This 5yr old and his mother aren't 'bad hombres.' They aren't in a gang, they're running from death- vulnerable and scared.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
They came to the U.S. because they believed in what's on the Statue of Liberty- they believed in the promise of this nation.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
We shouldn't turn our back on a vulnerable 5yr old boy and his mother who may very well die if they get on that plane.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
.@DHSgov and @realDonaldTrump should work to actually secure our border and fix our immigration system and stop this nonsense.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
.@DHSgov know the stakes for this child and his mother. Do the right thing.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
I've voted to secure our border and fix our immigration system.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
I've voted to double the number of border patrol agents, add 700 miles of fencing and mandate 24-hour surveillance of the border.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
What I won't do: stand by silently as a vulnerable child and his mother are sent to their possible death.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Just got off the phone with @Reince45, he promised that they are looking into it. I'll hold him accountable to do the right thing.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
The latest: Admin ordered the family on the plane. There are two flights they could be on: one direct to Honduras another with a layover.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
If this 5yr old and his mother are on the flight with a layover, then the Admin can still save them from this potential death sentence.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
If 5yr old & mother are on the direct flight it may be too late. Working the phones to try to find out which flight they're on.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Admin refuses to tell me whether they were placed on a direct flight or one with a layover. Infuriating. @flightaware is interesting, fwiw
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Worst part: According to lawyers @DHSgov knew darn well that 5yr old & mother had secured paperwork to protect them & they rushed removal.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Yup, that's right @DHSgov likely knew paperwork was in hand & rushed removal just because they could.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Why? Because that's the tone @realDonaldTrump has set- one in which pushing out a 5yr old and his mother is somehow a good idea.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Just confirmed with @DHSgov: only the White House can order this reversed now. It's on @Reince45 & @realDonaldTrump to help this family.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Still no word from @Reince45 or Admin on the family. Going on @MSNBC at 3:35 pm to make the case, I hear @realDonaldTrump likes cable.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Casey's tweets come as the Trump administration continues to face legal and political resistance to its most aggressive immigration policies.
In addition to federal court appeals of its two travel bans and a suspension of the U.S. refugee program for seven Muslim-majority countries, Trump this week wrangled with Congress over $1.4 billion in spending for a southern border wall, a key plank of his presidential campaign that failed to secure a place in the budget.
Trump's administration has also worked to strengthen the authority of the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, increasing targeted sweeps and doubling the number of arrests of undocumented immigrants without criminal records since taking office.
Sanctuary cities such as Philadelphia have had federal funding threatened because their refusal to cooperate with ICE in immigration cases that they deem to be overridden by Constitutional protections and local jurisdiction.
Jacklin Rhoads, a spokesperson for Casey, said the senator has written to the Department of Homeland Security on multiple occasions during the past year to urge better treatment and respect for the legal protections sought by families detained in Pennsylvania.
"The child in question and his mother pose absolutely no threat to this country. This deportation should not have happened," Rhoads said. "They are heading back into a possible dangerous situation for them and this deportation should be stopped. This is egregious. We should be looking for violent criminals, not refugee families who are seeking asylum."
In a letter to DHS Secretary John Kelly, Casey urged the administration to honor the documentation several families had obtained while held at the Berks County Residential Center in Leesburg, Pennsylvania. The mother and child referenced in Casey's tweets Wednesday were not among the four families identified.
Still, Casey argued that other families in this situation, many of whom are subject to "troubling allegations of abuse and neglect" in Berks County, deserve fair hearings.
"They fled brutal violence and death threats in their home countries only to be placed in detention and denied the right to fully state their asylum claims," Casey wrote. "In the interest of justice, these families, too, should be issued Notices to Appear before and immigration court and be given a full and fair opportunity to put forth their case for asylum."
In direct letter sent to President Trump on Wednesday, Casey said he planned to mail a photo of the five-year-old boy to the White House.
"We are better than this," Casey said. "You have the power to help this child return to safety and to help the other families in a similar situation."
