Ginger Cline, ’20-’21 Justice Catalyst Fellow, Speaks out Against Border Patrol Sending Asylum Seeker Back to Mexico While in Labor
Video Credits: CBS8 News
After spending months traveling to seek asylum in the United States, Honduran couple Belkis and Allan were deported to Mexico by United States Border Patrol while in labor. Belkis began to go into labor in the back of the Border Patrol transport van; once back in Tijuana, the Red Cross transferred Belkis to a Rosarito hospital where Belkis delivered her baby, Daphne, safely.
Ginger Cline, a ’20-’21 Justice Catalyst Fellow at Al Otro Lado, a non-profit that provides legal and humanitarian support for asylum seekers, including the couple, spoke with CB8News about the couple’s experience.
“To see that Border Patrol returned this family back to Mexico where they don’t have immigration status, where they don’t have the opportunity to easily receive medical care – that to me, was really shocking and it was a dereliction of duty,” said Cline. “This is consistent with what we’ve seen with other clients as well who have been returned to Mexico despite having severe medical conditions or unmet medical needs.”
As a ’20-’21 Justice Catalyst Fellow, Cline works with Al Otro Lado to represent detained asylum seekers, particularly from Haiti and francophone Africa, as well as individuals fighting their cases from Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the Remain in Mexico Program. Cline’s fellowship also employs impact litigation to defend the rights of asylum-seeking individuals, children, and families unlawfully denied access to asylum at the southern border.
To view CBS8 News’ video report on the story, please watch here.
Featured Fellow