Asylum seekers, including from India, released in Oregon |
Eight of more than 100 asylum seekers who were locked up by the Trump administration in a federal prison in Oregon have been released on bond, immigration lawyers said Aug.22. The first man to be released after being held in the prison for almost three months fell to his knees Aug. 20 and kissed the ground after leaving the building, said Katy Mitchell of Innovation Law Lab, which represents dozens of the detainees. More detained immigrants are expected to be released on bond in coming days from the prison in rural Sheridan, northwest of Salem. Most of the asylum seekers say they faced risks in their home countries, including India, Nepal, Guatemala, Mexico and China. All 79 of Innovation Law Lab’s clients in the prison were found in hearings to have a credible fear of returning home, Bejarano Muirhead told a news conference in Portland. That’s one of the first steps in a process in which they could be granted asylum in the United States. One of those released this week, Karandeep Singh from India, said he was grateful to be out of the prison, where detainees were held in crowded cells with open toilets. A total of 124 immigrants were brought to the prison in late May after being detained at the U.S. southern border.
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