ICE kept a Durango father and his two children in a windowless room for 36 hours after mistakenly arresting them. Fernando Jaramillo-Solano and his children, ages 12 and 15, report physical and mental abuse after being transferred to a Diley, a Texas detention center.
The family was detained on their way to school in Durango, Colorado when ICE agents pulled them over, according to The Colorado Sun. Jaramillo-Solano was mistaken for someone else, but the agents arrested him anyway, advocates say.
The Columbia-born family has an active asylum case, which means they have the legal right to remain in the U.S. while the case processes. They have lived in Colorado for 18 months with no criminal record and have complied with all requirements of their case, according to immigration advocates assisting the family with the process. There has been no active warrant for their arrest, according to Compañeros Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center.
Gregory Davies, Denver’s third-ranking official with ICE, corroborated that account in federal court during a lawsuit challenging the agency’s arrest practices. He testified that they did not know Jaramillo-Solano was the person driving the car before they stopped him, the Denver Post reports.
“Every time I asked what would happen to my children, or if they could have something to eat, they hit us,” Jarmillo-Solano says. “They told me I did not matter. They told me my children did not matter.”
The family was only given potato chips and water during their 36-hour detainment. They were not allowed to leave the small cell, Jarmillo-Solano reports. The only toilet was in the room, giving no privacy, and the lights remained on at all times.
The father and son allege that they were physically abused. The 15-year-old says his hands were bruised and swollen from the handcuffs agents placed on him, according to advocates. No female agent was available to help the 12-year-old girl.
The family’s arrest sparked demonstrations of hundreds of protestors in Durango. They blocked the entrance to prevent the family from being separated. Federal agents dragged, pepper sprayed, and fired rubber bullets at the crowd.
Representatives for Democratic Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet and Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd said they are working to free the family from ICE custody, according to The Colorado Sun.
Photos courtesy of social media
