Sirine Shebaya Profile picture
Jun 23, 2018 9 tweets 2 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
Just wrapping up from a long day at a border immigration detention center today, where along with a rock star team of women attorneys we interviewed more than 100 people. /1
Just between the three of us, @ofelial1 @SEDLAW15 and I talked to more than 30. Two most notable observations: /2
First, each and every one of the people we spoke with who has crossed the border had been separated from their child. Every single last one. That’s pretty dramatic in its own right. /3
Second, By today most of them had gotten one brief phone call with their lost child. But only one person actually knew where his child was. Even after finally being able to connect, most parents still had no idea where their children were or how they could find them. /4
Their stories were harrowing. People fled terrible situations, came over with their children. But instead of finding refuge, they found a new kind of terror. Several said they were taken to criminal court for prosecution and then came back to find their children gone. /5
None of them knew what to do to be reunited with their kids. Person after person stoically told us the most horrifying stories about their lives without batting an eye. But when it came to their kids, they all broke down. All they wanted to know was when they’d be reunited. /6
The need is great and the challenges are many. But more than anything, I’m left feeling so deeply in awe of the courage it takes to have the strength and vision to pick up their children and leave, whether fleeing for their lives or in search of a better future. /7
Most of us will never face anything that comes close to that kind of choice. It doesn’t matter where they crossed the border; many have strong asylum claims. All are in need of legal assistance. But very few will ultimately get it. /8
We are going back in tomorrow. We will post more as we learn more. But for now, we have the night to think about how lucky we are that we know exactly where our children are and when we will be seeing them next. /end

#FamilesBelongTogether

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More from @SirineShebaya

Jul 30, 2018
Today @MuslimAdvocates & Lotfi Legal filed the first legal challenge to the Trump Administration’s implementation of the #MuslimBan on behalf of 36 USCs, LPRs, and Iranian, Libyan, Somali, Syrian, and Yemeni individuals whose visas have been denied or stalled under the ban /1
The lawsuit is a class action on behalf of both US-based relatives and impacted people from the 5 countries. Now that SCOTUS has allowed the ban to remain in effect indefinitely, the least the Trump admin can do is live up to its own law /2
The Proclamation says that every applicant will be considered for a case-by-case waiver if they meet three criteria. But the agencies haven’t put in place a process by which people can submit an application or documents or anything that would allow them to show that they do. /3
Read 10 tweets
Jun 25, 2018
Tonight, I’m returning home to my own babies, carrying with me the faces and voices and stories of the moms and dads I spoke to over the past few days who do not know where their children are or when they will next see them. /1
The mom whose deaf and mute son was taken away from her. The moms fleeing horrific domestic abuse. The moms whose family members were killed by gangs and whose lives and children’s lives were threatened. The dad tied to a tree and beaten. The dad threatened with mutilation. /2
The stories are endless. And they are gut-wrenching. And our taxpayer money is being used to treat them like criminals and to cage them and to take their children away from them. /3
Read 11 tweets

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