Migrants win asylum, yet remain locked up in ICE detention centers

A U S Customs and Boundary Protection agent listens to Russians seeking a humanitarian visa at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in March File photo by Jorge Duenes Reuters This article was produced by Capital Main It is published here with permission When Arsenii crossed the edge at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in September with an appointment to begin his asylum process after fleeing Russia the first thing he heard from U S functionaries distressed him F ing Russians Arsenii revealed the officer commented to him Almost a week later administrators transferred him from the port to Otay Mesa Detention Center a long-term holding facility in San Diego for people in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Arsenii like other immigrants who spoke with Capital Main demanded not to be fully identified due to ongoing safety concerns both in and outside the United States He waited for more than five months for the opportunity to explain how he fled his homeland because of his LGBTQ and anti-war activism and now needed protection in front of an immigration judge On March the judge granted him asylum which would allow him to live and work in the United States and become a permanent resident But Arsenii remained in U S executive custody one of a great number of Russians stuck in ICE detention facilities after proving that they qualify for refugee status due to policies from both the Biden and Trump administrations He disclosed an ICE official explained him that he would not be allowed to leave anytime soon I m irritated I m depressed I m sad Arsenii reported on a phone call from the detention center I don t understand why I have to waste my time here staying here when I already managed to get a status for myself I m a refugee I don t understand I cannot comprehend why they don t want to let me out and to proceed with my future life here In the meantime Arsenii stated he had to hide his sexual orientation because the facility communicated him that it wouldn t be able to protect him from homophobic detainees He stated specific have exposed out anyway and bullied him Arsenii commented he tried to keep himself hopeful through meditation exercise and reading but he struggled sometimes especially when he woke up in a panic from nightmares about being returned to Russia ICE did not respond to a request for comment Capital Main spoke with more than a half-dozen Russian men in the same situation as Arsenii The men stated they knew of other cases as well and that various of their wives are also still detained According to several immigration lawyers at specific point during the Biden administration personnel began holding Russians and people from other countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union for long periods of time often choosing to detain them for the full length of their cases rather than releasing them from ports of entry or after they passed initial screenings as typically happened with other nationalities Now that Donald Trump is president those lawyers revealed that governing body attorneys employed by ICE are appealing any Russian asylum win and that ICE is choosing to keep the Russians in custody while those appeals move through the bureaucratic process which can take years Zero tolerance to expatriates When Anton crossed into the U S at the San Diego-Tijuana frontier with his partner and his partner s mother he thought they had definitively exposed safety He hoped he and his boyfriend would be able to get married something forbidden in Russia The family of three crossed the territory line at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in August using the phone application CBP One that under the Biden administration allowed asylum seekers to request appointments with Customs and Edge Protection to enter the country We were notified that we re going to have to spend the night in the facility and then they would release us the next morning Anton stated I ve never been lied to worse They waited several days in custody at the port of entry before representatives sent them to Otay Mesa Detention Center At the beginning of January the three won asylum in the U S A judge granted them protection based on Russia s persecution of gay men But they too remain in custody ICE has kept Anton and his partner in different housing units Because they are not married they do not have visitation rights Anton noted ICE transferred his partner s mother to a site in Louisiana He reported the experience has been traumatizing They locked me here with homophobic people and at once I heard whispers behind my back about my orientation about my hair that was green about how I walk and talk Anton stated There was nowhere to hide nowhere to escape anymore I spent a good amount of time crying under my blanket and shaking He revealed chosen facility staff bullied him as well I knew that I had to go through this he revealed I didn t have any other options I couldn t be distributed until I win my court matter At his hearing the ICE attorney didn t put up a legal fight Anton stated When the judge granted them asylum he and his boyfriend cried for elation he stated But the attorney stated the cabinet would appeal the incident The administration filed that appeal about a month later at the end of its appeal window he stated He cried again this time in despair for hours he announced I didn t feel the earth beneath me Anton announced It was hard to accept that I proved everything but they appealed without filing any reason without explaining An ICE plan document from says that people who win asylum should generally be published even if the agency is appealing the judge s decision Anton disclosed he took a printed copy of that procedures to his deportation officer He questioned if it was still in effect He commented Well yes and no Now there s a new president zero tolerance to asylum seekers Anton recalled So basically he admitted that they are not following their own policies anymore that they are acting unlawfully He admitted that And I feel punished for winning my asylum Anton stated that he is scared to spend more time in custody especially because of the homophobia that he is facing My physical and mental soundness are getting worse day by day Anton reported I feel that they re continuing to traumatize my soul that is traumatized by my past and they re making it worse right now A dinner disrupted A man from Uzbekistan which was formerly part of the Soviet Union revealed he was on his way to meet a couple of new friends he had just now met at the beach for dinner at Mona Lisa an Italian restaurant in San Francisco when ICE arrested him and sent him to Golden State Annex a detention facility in McFarland He d entered the U S with a CBP One appointment at the Calexico Port of Entry in July and agents had initially decided that he could live freely in the U S while he went through the court process for asylum A sparse months later they appeared to change their minds According to his attorney Mario Valenzuela ICE decided to investigate his client as a feasible terrorist because of the highway the man had taken to reach the U S But even after a joint task force cleared the man ICE still wouldn t release him Valenzuela disclosed The man declared the authorities in Uzbekistan tortured him for participating in pupil protests He revealed he even had to have surgery on his head from the injuries he suffered He won his episode in January when an immigration judge granted him asylum The administration filed its appeal on the last day of the appeal window I ve been here two Christmases two New Year s It s too sad the man reported And my birthday He reported that through the experience he has learned to appreciate every moment of freedom that may come his way I m faithful if God wills I will get out and I will start my life over the man commented I m going to take care of every single moment on the outside He has a journal that he writes and draws in to help pass the time Particular of the pages have doodles of Minnie Mouse and Hello Kitty characters He thinks about what he wants for his future marriage a family a peaceful life And he hopes to completely one day get to try the food at the Mona Lisa restaurant I just didn t show up to the dinner the man disclosed I don t even have my friends numbers right now They don t even know right now I think I m in here His attorney reported he understands why the protection screenings happened but he does not understand why his client is still detained I don t want anybody to come here that s a terrorist There s a side of me that says Good do that That s your job Valenzuela noted But he s been cleared The court granted asylum There s really no reason for him to stay there any longer He should be out and about Getting out According to Arsenii s attorney Kirsten Zittlau on the day of his hearing the establishment attorney didn t question his credibility or push much in the cross-examination of his testimony But after Judge Ana Partida granted him asylum the ICE attorney explained the establishment would appeal the decision Arsenii announced the ICE attorney recounted him the decision to appeal was based on supervisors orders Zittlau called the appeal frivolous The deportation officer in charge of whether Arsenii would get published narrated him that he would have to wait We are not releasing you until all your appeals are finished That is the position of Trump s administration Arsenii explained the officer described him He revealed he still believes in standing up for human rights and encourages others to do the same You should be loud he revealed before hanging up the detention center phone I was loud in Russia Here in this democratic country why wouldn t I be You have to fight for your own right Toward the end of March Zittlau received an update from ICE The agency had decided to release Arsenii after all It s not clear why the agency changed its position Arsenii stated in a message after his release that he s feeling much better now that he s free but he s still processing the strategies in which his time in detention affected him Only now am I beginning to understand how my forced stay there made me very wary Almost paranoid he wrote He reported even the process of leaving detention which included cold holding cells and shackles made him feel like he was being treated as a criminal Still he is relieved to be here Now that I have a full court decision granting me asylum I will not feel like I am under the sword of Damocles Various of the other Russians who spoke with Capital Main remain locked up Capital Main is an award-winning nonprofit publication that reports from California on the preponderance pressing economic environmental and social issues of our time including economic inequality state change healthcare care threats to democracy hate and extremism and immigration Copyright Capital Main