A Portland woman who was arrested along with her four U.S.-born children over the summer has been released from immigration detention, nearly four months after her apprehension.
Kenia Jackeline “Jackie” Merlos was freed from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, on Monday. Her release surprised family and advocates, frustrated that Merlos remained behind bars despite an immigration judge terminating the government’s deportation case on Oct. 14.
“Although she was freed that day, they still held onto her and kept her detained up until yesterday,” said Kris Wigger, a family friend who has been watching Merlos’s four young children since they were released in July after two weeks in custody. “This whole detainment was egregious.”
Undated photo of Kenia Jackeline Merlos, second from right, with her husband, Carlos Merlos, and their four children.
Courtesy of Mimi Lettunich
According to Wigger, an immigration judge who heard Merlos’s case on Oct. 14 had thrown out the case within 10 minutes of the hearing. Merlos applied for a U Visa, given to victims of violent crimes to remain in the U.S. Government attorneys still have until Nov. 14 to appeal an immigration judge’s decision.
Wigger, 48, and wife Mimi Lettunich, 58, traveled to the detention center Monday afternoon to pick up Merlos. The children had struggled to reconcile why they couldn’t see their mother despite the immigration judge’s ruling, Wigger said.
“I think the kids were so excited that she won the case, and then (for them) to process, ‘Well, why isn’t she with me if she’s won?’ We could just tell in their general emotions the past two weeks that there was a cloud of defeat over their heads,” he said.
Wigger added that Merlos is acclimating back to being home and spending time with her kids, 9-year-old triplets and a 7-year-old. Her husband Carlos was deported to Honduras in recent weeks and now the family is bracing for an uncertain future.
“They lost their dad. She lost her husband,” Wigger said. He noted the construction business they owned is now in limbo. “There’s a home to get back in shape. There’s a lot of pieces.”
Merlos’s release was celebrated by some of Oregon’s top Democratic officials, who criticized her and her family’s detention. U.S. Reps. Maxine Dexter and Suzanne Bonamici and U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley issued a joint statement.
“Jackie’s freedom is proof that the power of the people is greater than the people in power,” Dexter said.
OPB first reported on the Merlos family’s detention, which occurred June 28 in Washington state. Merlos, her kids and her 71-year-old mother had visited Peace Arch State Park at the U.S.-Canada border to visit with Merlos’ sister who now lives in Canada.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials accused Merlos of “attempting to smuggle illegal aliens into the U.S.” They held Merlos and her kids at a facility in Ferndale, Washington, until mid-July. Her husband, Carlos, was arrested outside their Portland home within days.
While Merlos, her mother and husband all eventually were transferred to the Tacoma facility, the children went free and landed in the care of Wigger and Lettunich. Shortly before the children’s release, they were preparing to board a plane at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with new passports, Wigger and Lettunich said.
According to Wigger, Merlos is cautiously optimistic about her future. Her husband and mother are now in Honduras. Wigger said she plans to be a more vocal advocate for immigrants’ rights.
“She wants to give back. She’s not afraid to share what happened to her, what happened to the family and the injustice of that,” he said.
