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A judge in California ruled that two children, who are U.S. citizens, were unlawfully detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2019. As a result, the judge awarded them more than $1 million in compensation, likely for the harm and distress caused by their unjustified detention.

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A family has been awarded $1.5 million in a civil lawsuit settlement after their two American citizen children were falsely imprisoned at the US-Mexico border. US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel allocated $250,000 to the children’s mother, $175,000 to the boy, and $1.1 million to the girl in his ruling on Friday. 

The incident occurred on March 18, 2019, when Julia, then nine years old, and her fourteen-year-old brother Oscar were detained during their routine crossing from their home in Tijuana, Mexico, to attend school in the United States.

Both children, whose last names were not disclosed in court records, are US citizens born in the United States. Their mother, Thelma Medina Navarro, holds a temporary US border-crossing card as a Mexican citizen, according to court documents.

At the San Ysidro point of entry near San Diego, Julia and her fourteen-year-old brother Oscar, accompanied by family friends, were stopped by US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents. They detained Julia under suspicion that she did not match the photo on her passport.

In violation of policy, a single Customs and Border Patrol officer interrogated Julia in a separate room, despite guidelines requiring a witness for minors, as stated in court documents.

During the interrogation, Julia was pressured into falsely claiming she was her cousin, leading officials to suspect her and her brother Oscar of potential smuggling and identity fraud.

Judge Curiel, in his ruling on Friday, criticized the lack of clarity from the United States regarding why a nine-year-old US citizen would make such a false confession. The confession, unrecorded and without a witness or detailed documentation, leaves unanswered questions about the incident.

Following multiple rounds of interviews, the siblings were separated and held in cells at the Admissibility Enforcement Unit of the border crossing. Oscar endured a 14-hour detention, while Julia was held for 34 hours.

Mexican consulate intervention and media coverage prompted the Border Patrol to release the children. Julia, suffering from insomnia and nightmares, required counseling after the traumatic incident, as documented in court records.

 

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