Lewelyn Dixon, a green card holder who lives near Seattle, was detained when she returned from a trip to the Philippines in February.
Via Madonna Cristobal
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Via Madonna Cristobal
When Madonna Cristobal landed at the airport near Seattle in February, she and her aunt waited in the same customs line.
Cristobal, an American citizen, sailed. Then she waited for her aunt. And expected.
“One hour, two, three hours,” said Cristobal. “I started to worry, then I say to myself:” Oh, what’s going on? “”
Cristobal’s aunt, Lewelyn Dixon, had been owned by customs and the protection of American borders.
Dixon has been a legal permanent resident that has lived in the United States for 50 years since the family immigrated to the United States of the Philippines. She has traveled international several times with her green card and has never had trouble returning to the United States – so far.
“We had a good time to visit our homeland, visiting the family,” said Cristobal. “My aunt doesn’t deserve that.”
It was only after Cristobal and his sister hired a lawyer that they discovered why Dixon, 64, was detained.
A conviction for crime for diversion of nearly $ 6,500 from the bank where she worked over 20 years ago is still in her file. At the time, Dixon pleaded guilty and paid a fine, according to his lawyer. She has never served prison, although she spent a month in a transitional house.
But now, any past offense can profile as the immigration authorities accelerate the application of airports and borders.
“It is a maximum application these days,” said Benjamin Osorio, an immigration lawyer who represents Dixon.
Traveling to the United States from abroad has become more risky under the repression of the Trump administration – Even for people with valid visas and green cards, say the lawyers for immigration.
“There are not many explanations,” said Ben Johnson, executive director of American Immigration Lawyers Association.
“There is not much consistency about what they do, except trying to find a reason to prevent people from returning to the United States and every reason to try to launch people in the United States,” said Johnson.
Borders take a more difficult line with green cards holders who have minor offenses on their files. This includes Fabian Schmidt, a man from the New Hampshire from Germany who was detained, perhaps because of an accusation of ten years offense for the possession of marijuana in California which was then rejected.
International tourists were also swept. Two German visitors were arrested in California to suspect that they planned to work or stay permanently in the United States.
And a UK’s backpacker took place for three weeks due to a mixture with his visa. Her father, Paul Burke, says that she was transported to the airport for expulsion in channels.
“She’s not Hannibal Lecter,” Burke told BBC.
In a press release, customs and border protection (CBP) says that it simply applies immigration laws.
“Those who violate these laws will be treated, detained and deleted as required,” said assistant commissioner of the CBP, Hilton Beckham, in a statement at NPR. “Green cards holders who have broken any American laws, committed fraud on demand or have not requested a return to school permit after a long period of travel have nothing to fear from entering and getting out of the country.”
Borders officers have always had a lot of discretionary power when they decide who to allow in the country, explains the former CBP commissioner, Gil Kerlikowske, although this increased exam is the best use of resources.
“Some of these detentions do not seem appropriate,” said Kerlikowske. “Especially if it was a relatively minor load. I mean, it is only a waste of dollars of taxpayers.”
Several European countries have updated their travel guidelines for the United States. The German government has warned that false information, previous judicial lockers or even minor visa could cause arrest, detention and expulsion.
It is difficult to say how many holders of green cards or travelers have been detained. But immigration lawyers say there are probably more of these cases that have not been reported.
Lewelyn Dixon’s detention devastated his family.
“Aunt Lynn was the rock of our family,” said Cristobal, the niece of Dixon. “She was what you would call an older sister for us, more than a aunt, because she crossed our weddings, our divorce, our pregnancies, the birth of our children.”
Dixon left the Philippines at the age of 14, with Cristobal and his brothers and sisters, helping them build a new life in the United States.
Cristobal lives with his aunt in Edgewood, a suburb of Seattle. She had to call the boss of her aunt at the University of Washington, where she works as a laboratory technology, to explain why Dixon could not get there.
A few days later, Dixon was transferred to the Northwest Ice Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, where she stayed almost a month later. His next hearing before the immigration court is scheduled for July.
The criminal record of Dixon would probably not be a sufficient reason for the authorities to arrest him and try to revoke his green card in the United States, according to Dixon’s lawyer. But the rules are different at the entrance ports.
“If she had not traveled, she would not have the problems she has,” said Osorio.
Osorio says he advises all of his customers who are legal permanent residents to become naturalized American citizens if they can.
Some immigration lawyers say that holders of green cards do not leave the country, especially if they have a criminal record in their past – as minor.
