FERNDALE, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Four children have been released from an ICE facility in Ferndale after they were detained there with their mother for over two weeks.
A friend of the family told the Seattle Times that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol called her on Monday to pick up the young children from Sea-Tac Airport.
The four children are all U.S. citizens, while their mother, Kenia Jackeline Merlos, is from Honduras and has pending immigration documents that haven’t been finalized with the government.
All five were detained by ICE officials at the Peace Arch border crossing on June 28.
Merlos is currently in federal custody at the NW Detention Center in Tacoma.
She has lived in the U.S. for about 20 years and has a valid work permit, according to a letter that a group of Congressmembers sent to federal officials.
Customs and Border Protection released a statement claiming Merlos was accused of smuggling people over the border, though the Congressmembers say she hasn’t been charged with a crime.
According to the family friend, Merlos’s husband was detained in Portland a few days after her arrest and was also taken to the detention center in Tacoma.
My Bellingham Now previously reported that a federal judge approved an emergency restraining order on Tuesday that keeps the family from being sent to another country.
