The Trump administration announced this week that it will and parents who were being held at the Hampton Inn Hotel and Suites in McAllen.
Lawyers, on behalf of the federal government, said in court filings on Monday that 鈥渢he unnamed single minors who were at the identified hotel on July 23, 2020 and still in the United States when the TRO (temporary restraining order) was filed are being processed or will be processed under the immigration procedures set out in Title 8 of the U.S. Code and not under the CDC Order.鈥�
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in late March citing part of of the U.S. Code that they said allows them to quickly remove people, including asylum seekers and children, who cross in between ports of entry, to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 into the U.S.
A was filed on Friday, July 24.
The was the plaintiff in that case as 鈥渘ext of friend鈥� for the children being held at the hotel. The filed the suit on their behalf to try and stop the expulsion of the children at the hotel.
鈥淥ver the weekend the government agreed to take everybody, every child, who was at that hotel outside of the expulsion process, the so-called Title 42 process, which is the justification that the government is using right now to expel children without any due process and using the pandemic as an excuse,鈥� said Efr茅n Olivares of the Texas Civil Rights Project.
The AP obtained documents and , sometimes for weeks, in hotels before the agency sent them to their home countries.
On Thursday, July 23, a day before the lawsuit was filed, on social media by the Texas Civil Rights Project that showed one of their attorneys, Andrew Udelsman,
A group of men in plain clothes asked for Udelsman鈥檚 badge, then Udelsman asked the men who they were, but they refused to identify themselves.
鈥淚鈥檓 an attorney. I鈥檓 here to help!鈥� shouted Udelsman in the video trying to communicate with some of the children in the hotel.
The men shove Udelsman into an elevator and told him to get out.
BREAKING: Our attorney was aggressively rejected from trying to offer help to immigrant children illegally detained at a Hampton Inn in McAllen, TX. He and another of our staffer were violently shoved into the hotel elevator and were told they could not offer help. ! 鈥� Texas Civil Rights Project (@TXCivilRights)
鈥淥n July 23, an ICE contractor, MVM, Inc. was on location in a hotel in McAllen, TX providing temporary housing for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). To ensure the safety of those in custody, contract officers, on a dedicated floor, positioned themselves at both the elevator and exit doors,鈥� said ICE officials in a statement provided to TPR. 鈥淒uring this time, two unidentified individuals attempted to forcefully gain access to that area of the building 鈥� but the officers were able to move them back to the elevators away from the occupied rooms.鈥�
Olivares with the Texas Civil Rights Project said ICE鈥檚 statement was a lie.
鈥淚 was outraged when I saw one of our team members, one of the attorneys that I supervise, be assaulted in that way simply for trying to help immigrant children,鈥� Olivares said. 鈥淭hat confirmed to us that something extremely unlawful and disturbing was going on at that hotel because you have these men not wearing any uniforms, refusing to identify themselves, acting violently to an attorney trying to provide legal services to immigrant families. That is alarming.鈥�
ICE鈥檚 statement also said that their agency was 鈥渘ot currently holding any individuals at that location.鈥�
A previous statement from Hilton Hotels also said that the children were no longer at the hotel.
We believe that hotels should be places of hospitality. 鈥� Hilton (@Hilton)
A day after ICE released their statement, protestors gathered outside the hotel and said they saw children waving to them from the top floor.
鈥淲e also witnessed some security try to come up to us and tell us that we can鈥檛 be here, we can鈥檛 be here protesting, we can鈥檛 be doing this,鈥� said Cythina Hernandez, a protestor.
ALERT: we learned that some of the remaining families are being moved from the Hampton Inn right now during . Our legal team is rapidly responding to ensure we don't lose them.
Where are they taking them now? Congress must investigate: 鈥� Texas Civil Rights Project (@TXCivilRights)
A spokesperson for Hilton confirmed in a statement that children were still at the hotel.
鈥淲e would like to address questions about our statement, which noted, 鈥楢ll single immigrant minors and their chaperones associated with this booking have since departed the hotel.鈥� The status of these individuals was the issue inquired about by both media and concerned individuals, and the statement remains true. Our intent was to answer the questions that had been posed, not to misdirect anyone,鈥� said the statement.
鈥淚n light of the ongoing pandemic, quarantining rules and a literal hurricane bearing down on the area, a short grace period was requested to allow time to relocate a group of adults, some of whom have their children with them. Due to the circumstances, we agreed. We have been informed all parties will have relocated as early as tomorrow, but no later than Monday. We cannot speak for any other organization that may have produced any conflicting reports.鈥�
Olivares said this is just one hotel that they鈥檝e found out about.
鈥淲ho knows how many more hotels around the country, in Texas and beyond, are being used to hold people in secret,鈥� he said.
He said he believes the government ruled in their favor because they were caught red-handed
鈥淎nd they know what they are doing is illegal and unlawful and unconstitutional and that鈥檚 why they agreed to stop,鈥� he said.
Olivares said they will continue to fight Title 42 expulsions.
Reynaldo Lea帽os Jr. can be reached at Reynaldo@TPR.org and on Twitter at .
Dominic Anthony Walsh can be reached at Dominic@TPR.org and on Twitter at .
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