![]() Last weekend, ICE deported a group of 12 migrants to Nogales after being detained. On August 4, the Kino Border Initiative (KBI), which interviews returned migrants who arrive at its shelter in Nogales, Mexico, reported a significant case of non-return of migrants’ valuable belongings: “Forcibly removing or targeting a Sikh’s turban or facial hair has symbolized denying that person the right to belong to the Sikh faith and is perceived by many as the most humiliating and hurtful physical and spiritual injury that can be inflicted upon a Sikh,” the letter notes.Ĭiting interns at an Arizona migrant shelter, Arizona Luminaria reported on August 5 that “the number of turbans confiscated and discarded by Border Patrol is in the hundreds, far beyond the number reported earlier this week.” In further reporting on August 17, the publication, citing the national Sikh Coalition and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, found “at least 12 new cases of turban confiscation this month alone.” These, the letter argues, are “serious religious-freedom violations” against members of the world’s fifth-largest organized religion, most prevalent in India’s Punjab region. Here is a troubling sample of cases just from the past several months:Īn August 1 letter from the ACLU of Arizona, first covered by the Intercept and Arizona Luminaria, contended that Border Patrol agents in Yuma had confiscated at least 64 turbans from asylum seekers of the Sikh faith so far this year, including at least 50 in the prior 2 months. This is just the small sample of cases that we know about because committed individuals and groups at the border are recording them. Of those captured events, as of mid-August 2022, 13 involve confiscation of documents and 28 involve non-return of belongings. We have now documented over 300 events since 2020, assembling a disturbing picture of “everyday,” unaccountable abuse at the border. ![]() It captures cases from media reports, official documents, and complaints from advocates based along the U.S.-Mexico border. In April 2022 WOLA launched Border Oversight, a regularly updated database of alleged abusive or improper conduct by U.S. But if he had passed through Yuma today and had his documents confiscated, he might have never won.” He wrapped them in plastic, and he left other things at home because he knew how important those papers would be to show why his country’s legal systems had failed. “One of my first clients that I ever met with carried 500 pages of legal documents from his case in his home country. Attorney Chelsea Sachau of the Arizona-based Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project discussed this earlier this month with the Arizona Republic: Some unreturned documents can be essential to winning asylum cases and avoiding removal to migrants’ home countries, where they could be killed. And some are essential for navigating daily life as a U.S.-based asylum seeker, like identity documents, proof of persecution, and vital phone numbers. Some are important for health and well-being, like prescriptions and medicines. Some have sentimental value, like photos, small heirlooms, and children’s stuffed animals and dolls. Some unreturned items have monetary value, like cash, jewelry, and mobile phones. ![]() The pattern includes agents’ confiscation of items vital to religious freedom, like rosary beads or the 64 or more turbans taken from Sikhs in Arizona so far this year. This is a longstanding unofficial practice of many CBP officers and Border Patrol agents: several years ago, a janitor at a CBP facility in Ajo, Arizona, even made an art exhibit out of confiscated items that had accumulated. ![]() ![]() “After 30 days personal property will be considered abandoned and may be destroyed,” the standards document reads, though it’s not clear how migrants are expected to claim their property while in custody, moved elsewhere, or removed from the United States without it.įar too often, property doesn’t get returned. CBP’s Transport, Escort, Detention and Search (TEDS) standards state that their belongings are to be “safeguarded” “documented” and held for 30 days or more. Upon entering Border Patrol or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody-whether apprehended in the field or voluntarily turning themselves in to seek asylum-migrants surrender what they’re carrying. border law enforcement agencies often fail to return, or discard, valuable items that they take from migrants. An August 1 complaint about Border Patrol agents confiscating Sikh asylum seekers’ religious headgear is the latest example in a longstanding pattern. ![]()
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