Within the past few hours on Wednesday, the Twitter profile of senator Bob Casey (D-PA) has been live tweeting the news that a young Honduran child and her mother were getting deported. Here are the tweets:
Twitter: it’s urgent. I just found out that a young child & her mother who came to U.S. seeking refuge will be sent back to Honduras today.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
This mother & child are being held at a facility in Berks county & are being sent into danger despite the child being eligible for relief.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Here’s their story: the 5yr old’s mother witnessed the murder of her cousin in Honduras and was being pursued by gangs.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Targeted for death, this mother fled with her 5yr old child. The child is potentially eligible for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Despite that, the Trump admin is planning to put them on a plane TODAY. A plane ride that can very likely lead to their death.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
The gangs will target this mother and her child the moment they land in Honduras, yet Trump admin insists on this cruel policy.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
I just had a picture of this 5yr old come across my desk. He’s adorable and wrote that he had “nowhere to go.”
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
I’ve just placed a call to @DHSgov Sec. telling him to stop this. I need you to tweet @DHSgov & tell them to protect this mother and child.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
.@realDonaldTrump If you’re on twitter- Call @DHSgov Sec. Kelly and tell him this makes no sense.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
This 5yr old and his mother aren’t ‘bad hombres.’ They aren’t in a gang, they’re running from death- vulnerable and scared.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
They came to the U.S. because they believed in what’s on the Statue of Liberty- they believed in the promise of this nation.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
We shouldn’t turn our back on a vulnerable 5yr old boy and his mother who may very well die if they get on that plane.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
.@DHSgov and @realDonaldTrump should work to actually secure our border and fix our immigration system and stop this nonsense.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Instead of sending a 5yr old and mother back to possible death, @realDonaldTrump should focus on dangerous criminals.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
.@DHSgov know the stakes for this child and his mother. Do the right thing.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
I’ve voted to secure our border and fix our immigration system.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
I’ve voted to double the number of border patrol agents, add 700 miles of fencing and mandate 24-hour surveillance of the border.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
What I won’t do: stand by silently as a vulnerable child and his mother are sent to their possible death.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Just got off the phone with @Reince45, he promised that they are looking into it. I’ll hold him accountable to do the right thing.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
The latest: Admin ordered the family on the plane. There are two flights they could be on: one direct to Honduras another with a layover.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
If this 5yr old and his mother are on the flight with a layover, then the Admin can still save them from this potential death sentence.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
If 5yr old & mother are on the direct flight it may be too late. Working the phones to try to find out which flight they’re on.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
If 5yr old & mother are on the direct flight it may be too late. Working the phones to try to find out which flight they're on.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Worst part: According to lawyers @DHSgov knew darn well that 5yr old & mother had secured paperwork to protect them & they rushed removal.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Yup, that’s right @DHSgov likely knew paperwork was in hand & rushed removal just because they could.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Why? Because that’s the tone @realDonaldTrump has set- one in which pushing out a 5yr old and his mother is somehow a good idea.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Just confirmed with @DHSgov: only the White House can order this reversed now. It’s on @Reince45 & @realDonaldTrump to help this family.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Still no word from @Reince45 or Admin on the family. Going on @MSNBC at 3:35 pm to make the case, I hear @realDonaldTrump likes cable.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
This kind of action makes us less safe. We should be protecting this family, not sending them into harm’s way. pic.twitter.com/zeeFHmKIsd
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
.@realDonaldTrump I am sending you a photo of the 5yr old child, who was deported with his mother, despite possibly being eligible for SIJS. pic.twitter.com/6LiG5PvaEr
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
.@realDonaldTrump This child and his mother fled their home country in fear of their lives, and face a real possibility of violence in being returned there. pic.twitter.com/VHAF7AmwST
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
.@realDonaldTrump We are better than this. You have the power to help this child return to safety and to help the other families in a similar situation. pic.twitter.com/bIyNPSN8DI
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
Still no definitive answer on 5yr old & mother. Last word from @ICEgov on the family: "gone." This is a profound outrage.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 3, 2017
The latest on the 5yr old & his mother: it's very likely that they are on the ground in Honduras and that's a potential death sentence.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 4, 2017
The gang who threatened the life of this child and mother won't waste time in seeking to mete out their revenge.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 4, 2017
We may never find out what happens to this child & his mother, but their fates should weigh on the conscious of this Administration.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 4, 2017
This child and his mother deserved better from this Administration. They got the absolute worst.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 4, 2017
.@realDonaldTrump should focus @DHSgov on keeping us safe. Target criminals for deportation, focus on security- not on a 5yr old.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 4, 2017
The energy, time and resources spent on targeting a 5yr old could have been spent targeting an individual who posed a threat to our nation.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 4, 2017
Shame on @realDonaldTrump @Reince45 @DHSgov @ICEgov for turning their back on this child and his mother. They should be better than this.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 4, 2017
According to NBC Philadelphia, the child and mother “were among 14 ‘longterm’ families held at the controversial Berks County Residential Center outside Reading. They had been detained at the Pennsylvania facility since Dec. 18, 2015, attorney Bridget Cambria said Wednesday afternoon.”
Cambria said she and other attorneys were arguing on behalf of the woman and her son before a federal judge on the Eastern District of Pennsylvania when they were notified that Immigration and Customs Enforcement put the two on a plane for Honduras.
“We applied for the child this week who had qualified for a special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) and brought it to ICE and the courts and we were in court today,” Cambria said. “We literally were arguing to include this child while immigration was watching the plane take off.”
UPDATE, May 4: Department of Homeland Security John responded to Case’s tweets.
I say it over and over again: If the laws are not good laws, then change them. Don’t call me, or Twitter or tweet, or go to the press with outrageous stories about how we do business or why we’re deporting somebody.
