Ever since,
Trump
administration rewrote the immigration laws, there has been chaos. Families are being torn apart and are being sent in detention, people with legal immigration status are being deported, and people are getting picked up from the immigration courts, too.
In this long run series of immigration woes, there is a new chapter. June 28 became a legal nightmare for Kenia Jackeline Merlos as she went to visit Peach Arch State Park. This trip was nothing out of the ordinary and Kenia was with her mother and 4 children.
However, the family then decided to visit Merlos’s sister and a few meters inside the
Canada
border, they were stopped by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). When the family tried to get back into the country, they were detained.
The children in the family are all American citizens, yet they were held in federal custody for over two weeks. This action by the authorities prompted widespread criticism.
Authorities had accused Merlos of smuggling unauthorized immigrants despite her children’s citizenship status. In such a situation, a maximum detention period is 72 hours, whereas Merlos was kept away from her kids for 2 weeks. Despite her repeated pleas, CBP did not listen to her.
‘WHAT AUTHORITARIANISM LOOKS LIKE’: A Portland mother and her four children have been detained by immigration officials in northern Washington for almost two weeks, according to Oregon Rep. Maxine Dexter.
https://t.co/7S4tlNmPhL
— KOIN News (@KOINNews)
July 11, 2025
This detention drew condemnation from Democratic Rep. Maxine Dexter. Dexter represents Portland, Oregon, where Merlos lived. Dexter visited the facility and called the prolonged custody of children “unprecedented.” She also called these practices an authoritarian government.
“Citizen children abducted. Community members disappeared,” Dexter declared. She stressed that CBP also misled congressional offices regarding the family’s whereabouts. Legal advocates also echoed these concerns. They have called this case a troubling example of overreach by immigration authorities.
I’m so sick of ICE and their horible treatment of immigrants ☆ F ICE
https://t.co/QFfV5UQV5j
#Shame
on
#ICE
— Joe Anybody (@iamjoeanybody)
July 12, 2025
Civil Rights groups that are advocating for immigrants’ justice have called for CBP reforms. The welfare and rights of detained children and family’s legal status is something these groups have been fighting for.
The
Department of Homeland Security
has claimed that Merlos was under suspicion for attempting to smuggle undocumented individuals. Although they have not shown any proof so far, and details are unclear.
Merlos has contended DHS’s claims and said that her visit to Canada was brief and legitimate. She also said that she had requested custody of her children, which was denied by CBP.
Adding to the family’s distress, Merlos’s husband, Carlos, was reportedly arrested by ICE days later at their home in Portland. He remains in detention at a facility in Tacoma, Washington. The couple’s exact immigration status is yet to be disclosed, but it appears central to the legal proceedings.
