politics

They also kidnapped the grandmother, who was traveling with them on a valid visa, and have her imprisoned elsewhere. Then they snatched the father separately. The mother and kids don't know the father is imprisoned. They've been given no phone calls and no access to legal representation.

If Dexter’s office had not been told about the situation, it is unlikely Merlo’s friends and family would have been able to find her, said Mimi Lettunich, a friend of the Merlo family who has known Merlo for around 20 years. Lettunich attended Friday’s press conference remotely.

“When we talk about ‘What do we want in our community?’ — hard-working, of course. They go to church, and not just participating. Jackie is the worship director at the church,” Lettunich said. “(They) are collaborating with community outreach and things like The Salvation Army. … Their kids are in Christian school, and they are involved in all kinds of different activities and sports. They just won a music competition, just a few weeks ago, and a trip to Disney. I think about how their community is sending them to Disneyland, and our government is sending them to detention.”

As a member of Congress, Dexter has access to the CBP facility and was able to see the family through a window but was not given permission to speak with them.

“They have no idea who I was. I was not allowed to speak with them,” she said.

On July 3, five days after the family was detained at the U.S. and Canadian border, Merlos’ husband, Carlos, was detained by ICE agents in Portland. He has been detained by ICE. Because Merlo has not been able to talk with anyone outside the CBP facility, it is unlikely she is aware of her husband’s status, Dexter said.

Dexter’s office and Merlos’ attorney, Nedved, have access to Carlos in the Northwest Detention Center but still cannot speak with Merlos in Ferndale.

“We cannot connect the two of them to make sure that they understand the situation that the other is in,” Dexter said. “It is absolutely a travesty.” Because nobody has been able to speak with Merlo or her children since she has been taken, it is also possible Merlo doesn’t know she has legal representation, Nedved said.

“We have an issue here where CBP is taking a role where they have detained a family for a period of a couple of weeks when these detention facilities are really only designed for short term,” Nedved said. “They (the family) have not been provided access to contact loved ones, access to contact council or understand what their rights even are.” Nedved said Merlos is unlikely aware of her situation and is making a decision (whether to voluntarily deport) “potentially under duress.”