Cheryl Little
Cheryl Little
border hanging immigrant likely patrol
If I were an immigrant without papers, I wouldn't be hanging around down there. It's a place where border patrol is likely to target.
community fear immigrant level past seen
I haven't seen this level of fear in the immigrant community in the past two decades.
assume clout color communist economic folks groups political skin tend
They're not from a Communist country, and so folks tend to assume they're just economic refugees. They don't have the kind of political clout that a lot of other groups have. And frankly, I think the color of their skin has a lot to do with it.
fight military personnel refugee run telling time trained
Military personnel were telling us at the time -- they're trained to fight -- they're not trained to run a refugee camp.
detain government intent obvious people
It's pretty obvious that the intent of the government is to detain more and more people and to expedite their removal.
apply came cases child citizen closed doors early escape family life opened parent political since themselves understanding
We've closed over 47,000 cases since we opened our doors in early 1996, and it's never been my understanding that's why a family came here. They come here to escape political persecution, or to make a better life for themselves -- not to have a U.S.-born-citizen child who can apply for the parent to become a citizen 21 years later.