Two U.S. citizens detained for speaking Spanish reach settlement deal

Washington, November 26 (RHC)-- In the U.S. state of Montana, two U.S. citizens who were apprehended by Customs and Border Protection for speaking Spanish while grocery shopping have reached a settlement in their racial profiling lawsuit against the Trump administration. 

Ana Suda and Martha Hernandez were standing in line at the store when a CBP agent asked them where they were born and demanded to see identification after hearing them speak Spanish.  The two women, who were born in Texas and California, showed their valid Montana driver’s licenses, but were taken into custody anyway.

In more immigration news, BuzzFeed reports the Trump administration deported 33 unaccompanied children to Guatemala — just minutes after a judge last week blocked a policy that allowed immigration officials to quickly expel refugee children and asylum seekers without due process by citing the coronavirus pandemic. 
Since ICE violated the judge’s ruling, the agency could be forced to bring the 33 children back. Some 13,000 unaccompanied refugee children have been deported since March under this policy.

Meanwhile, a new federal court filing shows Customs and Border Protection held over 60 children — including infants under the age of one — at facilities at the U.S.-Mexico border for over three days in the past two months, a violation of the Flores agreement.