A family of three who came to the U.S. seeking asylum was detained by immigration authorities when they went to a hospital in Portland seeking medical care for their daughter.
KOIN reported that U.S. Border Patrol officers arrested Yohendry De Jesus Crespo, Darianny Liseth Gonzalez de Crespo, and their 7-year-old daughter on Jan. 16 at a hospital.
"They are educated people, legally married in Venezuela, and they wanted to formalize their family here and give their daughter a better future," family friend Ana Linares told KOIN.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed to KOIN that the family had come to the U.S. seeking asylum and that they had been detained.
"Any application for asylum does not preclude immigration enforcement. The law requires those in the country illegally claiming asylum to be detained pending removal. You can look it up in the statute. The Trump administration is not going to ignore the rule of law," DHS said in a statement to KOIN.
KOIN reported that the family was on their way to Adventist Health Portland.
A GoFundMe page set up for the family states that they were in the parking lot on their way to the emergency room because their daughter had a nosebleed.
"ICE agents forced them out of the car, and they were unable to get a doctor to see their daughter," the GoFundMe page states.
"Detaining a family while they seek medical care for a child is unconscionable and does not just violate the ethical obligations of frontline caregivers; it violates the fundamental ethical obligation of healthcare institutions," the Oregon Nurses Association said in a statement. "When law enforcement actions intrude into medical spaces, patient care is compromised—and in this case, a child's well-being was placed at risk."
KOIN reported that the family will remain in custody pending a hearing with an immigration judge.
Originally published on Latin Times
