During a vacation in Canada, a family accidentally crossed the US border and ended up in jail

A British family with young children was arrested and imprisoned after accidentally turning in the wrong direction by car and crossing the United States border while on vacation in Canada.

Фото: Depositphotos

24-year-old Eileen Connors, her 30-year-old husband David Connors and his cousin Michael Connors were in Vancouver, British Columbia. On October 3, they said, they inadvertently entered the United States. Other family members, including two-year-old twins and a three-month-old boy, were also in the car, writes Fox News.

Michael Connors says he was driving close to the US-Canada border when a wild animal suddenly ran out onto the road. The man turned onto the road without identification marks to avoid a collision. Almost immediately, the family was surrounded by police cars and border patrol agents.

“They had no idea they had crossed any border,” family attorney Bridget Cambria said in an interview. “They had no idea they were in the United States.” They were just trying to get back to their hotel."

On the subject: NYT: Trump proposed shooting at the feet of illegal immigrants and digging a moat with alligators at the border

The lawyer said the officer told the family: "You have crossed an international border" and they were not allowed to contact the British embassy.

“We asked if we could just go back and the officer said no,” Eileen wrote in a statement. “We repeated that we didn’t want to be here.” We were still arrested and treated like no one deserves.”

Family members were taken into custody and taken to a facility near the Canadian border. Eileen said she and her 3-month-old baby had to sleep “on a cold, dirty floor under thin blankets that looked like they were made of metal.”

“The memory of our little child having to sleep on the dirty cell floor will haunt us forever,” Eileen writes.

The next day, the couple was first told that they would be released under the responsibility of a family member from the United States, but then they added that this was impossible - they had to remain behind bars. Eileen said they were forced to move from the cell to the van in what looked "like a kidnapping scene."

David was taken to another detention center, and Eileen and her child were taken to the Red Roof Inn in Seattle, Washington. On October 5, the family was taken to Seattle Airport and sent to Pennsylvania, where they were transferred to the Burks Detention Center in Lysport.

The family detention center is one of only three in the country. It is often described as dirty, and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf over the summer called the facility "horrible," "immoral" and "inhumane."

Eileen said that after being detained in Burks, her child had spots on the skin and a clear eye infection.

“We will be traumatized for the rest of our lives by what the United States government did to us,” the woman wrote in her statement. “We are treated like criminals, stripped of our rights and lied to... In the UK this would never happen to US citizens or anyone else because people there are treated with dignity.”

On the subject: After crossing the border, an illegal alien called 911 to be rescued by border guards.

ICE confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday that Eileen and David Connors were being held in Burks, but were contesting allegations that the facility was inhumane.

“[The Berks Family Residential Center] provides a safe and humane environment for families during the immigration process,” ICE officials said in a statement. — BFRC supports all authorized local, state and federal investigations regarding the safety and welfare of our residents. [Reports of] abuse or inhumane conditions at BFRC are unequivocally false.”

A family lawyer said the family is likely to be deported back to the UK. However, according to her, so far no deportation documents have been handed over to the family and it is unclear what charges were brought against Connors.

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