Border Patrol Detains US Citizens For Speaking Spanish

Two American citizens from Le Havre, Montana, claim: US border guards arrested them because women spoke Spanish. Victims filed a federal lawsuit for violation of constitutional rights.

Фото: Depositphotos

Nursing assistants Ana Suda and Marta Hernandez say that on May 16 of the year 2018 they finished work, put the children to bed and went to the gym together. After classes, women decided to go to a local store. While they were talking near the entrance, a border guard agent approached them and asked a question about Hernandez's accentre and the places of birth of women, writes SF Gate.

The court and Hernandez told the agent that they were from Texas and California, after which he asked for their documents. One of the women filmed this on video.

“Ma’am, I asked you for ID because I heard you speak Spanish, which is unheard of in these parts,” the agent says.

The women claim that the agent detained them for 45 minutes, even though they called themselves US citizens. Cody Wofsi, a staff lawyer for the ACLU project on immigrants ’rights, said that unlawful detention constitutes a violation of the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures.

“Speaking Spanish is not illegal. Americans speak hundreds of different languages,” Wofsey said. “This is truly a sign of abuse of power by local agents, which is encouraged by the Trump administration.”

The lawsuit also alleges that the agent singled out the women based on race — one of the demands is to bar the agency from detaining people based on race, language or accent.

After the women showed the driver’s license, the radio agent asked for reinforcements, “as if two mothers with a box of eggs were a threat.” Other agents arrived in uniform along with the supervisor.

“When I asked him if we would have been detained if we spoke French, he replied: “No, we wouldn’t have done that.”

The court said that after the incident, she was subjected to threats and harassment from strangers, including, “in bars and restaurants, they shouted at me, calling me illegal”.

Suda was born in Texas and moved to Montana with her husband in 2014. Hernandez was born in California and has lived in Montana since 2010. Both are registered nursing assistants who work at a senior center.

The eight-year-old daughter of Suda is now afraid to speak Spanish in public, each time asking her mother about it. And even when a woman speaks Spanish in a child, her daughter answers in English, for fear that someone will hear.

“I think it changed our lives forever,” the mother adds.

In a sense, it would be easier to remain silent about this incident, women say. But they were not the ones who said nothing.

“I want my children to not only be proud of being bilingual. I want them to know that they live in a country where people cannot simply be detained and interrogated based on the way they look and talk,” Suda said.

Read also on ForumDaily:

USCIS changed the form to extend or change the status of a non-immigrant in the United States

Trump administration sued for sending asylum seekers to wait for decisions in Mexico

Families of illegals separated from children sued the United States and demanded $ 3 million each

California authorities withdraw troops of the National Guard under the Mexican border

What services the immigration service provides online: list

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.