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

A U S Customs and Confines 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 boundary 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 representatives distressed him F ing Russians Arsenii noted the officer announced to him Almost a week later personnel 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 appealed 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 governing body custody one of various 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 revealed an ICE official described him that he would not be allowed to leave anytime soon I m irritated I m depressed I m sad Arsenii disclosed 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 declared he had to hide his sexual orientation because the facility reported him that it wouldn t be able to protect him from homophobic detainees He announced various have located out anyway and bullied him Arsenii declared 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 reported they knew of other cases as well and that plenty of of their wives are also still detained According to several immigration lawyers at a few point during the Biden administration executives 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 noted that leadership 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 foreigners When Anton crossed into the U S at the San Diego-Tijuana confines with his partner and his partner s mother he thought they had definitively ascertained safety He hoped he and his boyfriend would be able to get married something forbidden in Russia The family of three crossed the edge 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 Demarcation Protection to enter the country We were narrated that we re going to have to spend the night in the facility and then they would release us the next morning Anton commented 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 commented 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 right now I heard whispers behind my back about my orientation about my hair that was green about how I walk and talk Anton mentioned There was nowhere to hide nowhere to escape anymore I spent a good amount of time crying under my blanket and shaking He disclosed certain 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 issued until I win my court circumstance At his hearing the ICE attorney didn t put up a legal fight Anton revealed When the judge granted them asylum he and his boyfriend cried for satisfaction he reported But the attorney announced the regime would appeal the scenario The governing body filed that appeal about a month later at the end of its appeal window he commented He cried again this time in despair for hours he noted I didn t feel the earth beneath me Anton reported It was hard to accept that I proved everything but they appealed without filing any reason without explaining An ICE strategy document from says that people who win asylum should generally be distributed even if the agency is appealing the judge s decision Anton commented he took a printed copy of that guidelines to his deportation officer He required 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 mentioned that he is scared to spend more time in custody especially because of the homophobia that he is facing My physical and mental robustness are getting worse day by day Anton explained 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 mentioned he was on his way to meet a couple of new friends he had in recent months 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 authorities 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 prospective terrorist because of the path 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 declared The man mentioned the governing body in Uzbekistan tortured him for participating in aspirant protests He stated he even had to have surgery on his head from the injuries he suffered He won his affair in January when an immigration judge granted him asylum The regime 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 announced And my birthday He disclosed 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 mentioned 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 A few 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 in the end one day get to try the food at the Mona Lisa restaurant I just didn t show up to the dinner the man declared 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 declared he understands why the defense 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 commented 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 governing body 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 stated the establishment would appeal the decision Arsenii commented the ICE attorney communicated 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 disclosed notified 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 declared the officer recounted him He commented he still believes in standing up for human rights and encourages others to do the same You should be loud he explained 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 revealed in a message after his release that he s feeling much better now that he s free but he s still processing the options 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 announced 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 A great number of 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 majority of pressing economic environmental and social issues of our time including economic inequality surroundings change soundness care threats to democracy hate and extremism and immigration Copyright Capital Main