SCHUMER CALLS ON FEDS TO INTENSIFY BACKGROUND CHECKS BEFORE DEPORTING MINORS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES; URGES IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS TO REQUIRE BIOMETRIC CONFIRMATION, LIKE FINGERPRINTING, TO ACCURATELY IDENTIFY WHETHER DETAINED TEENS ARE ACTUALLY U.S. CITIZENS
After the Deportation of Texas Teen Based on False Name Given to Feds, Schumer Urges Dept. of Homeland Security and Immigration Officials To Require Confirmation of Biometric and Biographical Information Before Deporting Minors To Foreign Country
According to Reports, Fed Officials Deported Teenage Girl Even Though Fingerprints Did Not Match Those Of Wanted Colombian Illegal Immigrant
Schumer to Feds: Mistakes Like This Simply Can't Happen; There Can Be Zero Doubt When It Comes To Deporting Minors to Foreign Countries
In light of reports that a U.S. Citizen teenage girl from Dallas was wrongfully deported to Colombia, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer has called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to investigate and report what went wrong in this disturbing case, and to intensify background checks and other procedures in order to prevent U.S. Citizens, particularly minors, from being deported in the future. Schumer is urging DHS and ICE to implement more intensive procedures when a minor is detained, and ensure that they secure confirmation of the child's identity through biometric measures, like fingerprinting, and thorough biographical interviews. In his letter to both agencies, Schumer also pushed immigration officials to corroborate statements and identifying information provided by detained minors with a related adult whenever possible. In April 2011, Jakadrien Turner, a 14-year-old Dallas teen and U.S. Citizen was arrested and provided a false name to authorities, which coincidentally matched that of an illegal Colombian immigrant. According to reports, ICE became involved in the case, and although Turner's fingerprints did not match those of the Colombian immigrant that she claimed to be, Turner was nonetheless deported to Colombia, where the teenager is still in custody. Schumer stated that while Ms. Turner's case may be unique, it's the type of mistake that simply cannot occur, and it clearly demonstrates the need for ICE to strengthen safeguards and protocols when the deportation of a minor is at hand.
"The news of this wrongful deportation of an American teenager is extremely disturbing, and calls to question the procedures and cross-checks authorities use when deporting minors," said Senator Schumer. "Under no scenario should detained children in the U.S be deported based on their own personal accounts; often these minors provide false information to authorities based on fear and without full understanding of the consequences. Mistakes like this one, are unacceptable. That is why I'm urging the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to beef up their background check procedures involving the deportation of minors, by securing confirmation of their identity through actions like fingerprinting, or corroboration from a related adult. To kick a child out of their own country to a foreign land, without a fingerprint match, is unacceptable, and we must ensure an incident like this never happens again."
Senator Schumer, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, is urging DHS and ICE to immediately report the contents of their investigation into Jakadrien Turner's case, and provide an explanation of what went wrong and how it will be corrected to prevent similar wrongful deportations in the future. Also, Schumer is urging these federal officials to implement new procedures in regard to the minors that they detain. Specifically, Schumer is pushing DHS and ICE to require that in cases where a detainee is a minor, the identity of these individuals be confirmed through available biometrics measures, such as fingerprinting, as well as detailed biographical interviews. In addition, Schumer is calling on immigration officials to make every effort to confirm identifying information with at least one adult, either in the United States or abroad, before a minor is deported to a foreign country. Regardless of the reason that they are detained, Schumer argued that children in detention are often scared and do not want to admit to committing unlawful conduct under their own name for fear of punishment by their parents, school, or others. Therefore, it is critical to cross-check all information provided by minors, in order to ensure that any decision to deport the individual is based in fact.
According to news reports, Jakadrien Turner ran away from home in the fall of 2010, and was later arrested in Houston for theft. Ms. Turner gave Houston police a fake name, which belonged to a 22-year-old illegal immigrant from Colombia, who had warrants out for her arrest. At that time, ICE officials became involved in Ms. Turner's case and took her fingerprints, which did not match those of the Colombian immigrant whose name she had falsely given. Jakadrien Turner also did not speak Spanish. Regardless of what must have been some level of uncertainty, ICE deported Jakadrien Turner in April 2011, where she is still currently detained.
A copy of Senator Schumer's letter appears below:
January 6, 2012
Secretary Janet Napolitano
Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
The Honorable John T. Morton
Director
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
500 12th Street, SW Washington, DC 20536
Dear Secretary Napolitano and Director Morton:
As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, I am responsible for directing the Senate's oversight of the immigration functions of the Department of Homeland Security, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It is in this capacity that I would like to draw your attention to the disturbing deportation of a U.S. citizen teenaged-girl, and to ask you take steps to ensure that U.S. citizens-especially minors-are not wrongfully deported in the future.
According to various news accounts, Jakadrien Turner, a Dallas teenager who ran away from home more than a year ago, somehow wound up deported to Colombia after U.S. authorities mistook the girl, who lacked identification, for a Colombian national. Ms. Turner was deported even though she was a 14-year-old teen and was a U.S. citizen. It appears as if officials simply took Ms. Turner at her word when she gave them a fake name, and ignored fingerprints which conclusively showed that the girl's fingerprints did not match the fingerprints of the Colombian immigrant she purportedly claimed she was. Officials appeared to have ignored the fact that Ms. Turner does not speak Spanish and knew nothing about Colombia.
The Colombian Institute for Family Welfare confirmed that Ms. Turner is in its custody, is pregnant, and entered the country classified as an adult. The institute said Colombian authorities learned about the case a month ago and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on her return to the United States. This case is unfortunate for Ms. Turner and her family and was a waste of scarce taxpayer dollars consumed on effectuating Ms. Turner's deportation proceedings and now securing her eventual retrieval. This situation could have been avoided had agency authorities thoroughly corroborated her fingerprints and subjected her to detailed biographical questions rather than simply accepting her story.
In light of this case, I am asking that DHS/ICE immediately explain what went wrong with DHS/ICE's procedures and what must be corrected. In addition, I ask DHS/ICE to enact procedures to ensure that, in the future, minor children in detention are not mistakenly deported to foreign countries. Children in detention are often scared, and do not want to admit to committing unlawful conduct under their own name for fear of punishment by their parents, school, or others. ICE must be very careful in cases where there is even a possibility that a detainee is a minor and, in such cases, should thoroughly vet each case with all available biometrics and with detailed biographical questions to ensure that any minor who is removed has absolutely no chance of being a U.S. Citizen. ICE should make every effort to achieve corroboration of the minor's biographical information from at least 1 available adult either in America, or abroad, (if possible) before deporting any minor to a foreign country.
I thank you for your attention to this important matter, and look forward to working with you in any manner necessary to further our joint mission of improving the functioning of our immigration system.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
Chairman
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security