That's when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents showed up at the children's shelter, slapped handcuffs on Orellana's wrists, chained them to his waist, and shackled his legs together. The agents drove Orellana to the Broward Transitional Center, an infamous immigration jail in Pompano Beach, where he was thrown into a cell with men twice his age.
Orellana's saga isn't just shocking — it's also illegal, say Miami immigration attorneys who have succeeded in forcing ICE to release several other 18 year olds in recent months. Even worse, they say what happened to the Guatemalan refugee seems to have become ICE's national policy.
"When they turn 18, it's basically, 'Happy birthday,' and then they slap on handcuffs and take them off to adult detention centers," says Lisa Lehner, an attorney with the nonprofit Americans for Immigrant Justice who is representing Orellana.
I don't want to hear any Democrats talk about modestly changing the mission parameters blahblahblah. What's going on are crimes against humanity - not to mention blatant violations of US law which our system is unwilling and unable to deal with. Just close all of the doors and send everybody home to spend the rest of their lives wondering when their day of justice will come (it never will, of course).