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SAN DIEGO — Vulnera-
ble migrants facing persecu-
tion in Mexico are having a
difficult time getting out of
the “Remain in Mexico” pro-
gram because the federal
government is limiting their
access to attorneys and pre-
venting them from prepar-
ing for asylum interviews,
according to immigration
lawyers and human rights
workers.
Under the program, asy-
lum seekers must live in
Mexico while waiting for im-
migration court hearings.
People afraid of persecution
in Mexico can be removed
from the program and wait
in the United States if they
pass what is known as a fear-
of-return interview.
However, immigration
lawyers say the U.S. govern-
ment is making it difficult for
migrants to pass that inter-
view. Specifically, they say
that the Trump administra-
tion’s policies limit mi-
grants’ access to legal repre-
sentation, prevent appli-
cants from preparing for the
interview and setan unrea-
sonably high legal standard
to prove fear of being per-
secuted.
“We know that in practice
those interviews are prob-
lematic,” said Monika Lan-
garica, immigrants’ rights
staff attorney for the ACLU
of San Diego and Imperial
Counties.
“If people request those
interviews in court, they are
subject to wait in detention
for what could be days on
end for the interview, they
don’t have access to a lawyer
while waiting for the inter-
view and, for the most part,
they don’t have access to a
lawyer during the interview,”
she added.
Local immigration law-
yers representing people in
the Remain in Mexico pro-
gram say clients with legiti-
mate safety concerns have
been denied the chance to

wait in the United States. In

one instance, a Honduran

man received threatening

text messages from the

same gang he ran away from.

Gang members told the man

that they knew he was living

in Tijuana and that they

were coming for him, accord-

ing to Luis Gonzalez, super-

vising attorney for Jewish

Family Service of San Diego.

That man took printed

copies of the text messages

to his fear-of-return inter-

view but was ultimately

forced back to Mexico.

“I think those people are

the ones who need protec-

tion,” Gonzalez said. “It

shows the persecutors back

home can follow them to

Mexico and for them Mexico

is not a safe country.”

Remain in Mexico is a re-

sponse to a “security and hu-

manitarian crisis on the

southern border,” and the

program is meant to dis-

courage individuals from at-

tempting to enter the coun-

try illegally and make false

asylum claims to stay in the

U.S., according to the De-

partment of Homeland Se-

curity’s website.

A spokesperson de-

fended the program, saying

the secretary of Homeland

Security has broad author-

ity to enforce the country’s

immigration laws and that

the program is in compli-

ance with domestic and in-

ternational law.

It remains unclear ex-

actly how many people have

received fear-of-returning to

Mexico interviews and how

many have passed.

The Department of

Homeland Security has not

released statistics about the

program and did not re-

spond to a media inquiry

from the San Diego Union-

Tribune asking for the num-

ber of migrants who have

been allowed to stay in the

United States.

Anecdotally, immigra-

tion lawyers say the num-

bers are slim.

At Jewish Family Service

of San Diego, lawyers have

had more than 25 clients

undergo a fear-of-return in-

terview and only five have

been allowed to stay in the

United States, Gonzalez

said.

Kennji Kizuka, a senior

researcher with Human

Rights First, estimates that

1% of the more than 20,

migrants in the Remain in

Mexico program have gotten

out through the fear-of-re-

turn interview.

This week, the New York-

based nonprofit released a

critical report about the Re-

main in Mexico program.

The report says there have

been more than 110 reported

cases of rape, kidnapping,

assault and other violent

crimes against asylum seek-

ers returned to Mexico.

The report criticizes the

fear-of-return interviews,

calling the process, “a sham

that returns asylum seekers

to grave danger.”

Specifically, the report

says the interviews are

flawed because migrants are

asked to meet a high legal

standard but are not

granted legal representa-

tion and due process neces-

sary to meet that standard.

That is the same argu-

ment that the labor union

representing federal em-

ployees who conduct the in-

terviews made in a legal

brief.

That high legal standard

is officially known as the

“more likely than not” stand-

ard — meaning there is a

more likely than not chance

that they face persecution in

Mexico.

That standard has tradi-

tionally been used in full-

scale deportation proceed-

ings administered by an im-

migration judge in which mi-

grants are given an eviden-

tiary hearing, access to

counsel, time to prepare and

a right to a review.

However, this interview

process removes all of those

protections.

“This mismatch between

the high evidentiary stand-

ard and the inadequate pro-

cedures all but ensures vio-

lation” of domestic and in-

ternational law, the brief

states.

In response to criticisms

of the high legal standard,

Sharon Rummery, public af-

fairs officer with U.S. Citi-

zenship and Immigration

Services said that then-Sec-

retary of Homeland Security

Kirstjen Nielsen instructed

officials to use the “more

likely than not” legal stand-

ard and noted that the

standard is consistent with

various international

treaties, including the Con-

vention Relating to the Stat-

us of Refugees and the Con-

vention Against Torture and

Other Cruel, Inhuman or

Degrading Treatment or

Punishment.

Unlike criminal court,

people in immigration court

do not have the right to a free

attorney. Instead, they have

the right to pay for an attor-

ney or find an attorney will-

ing to take their case for free.

However, under Remain in

Mexico, some migrants with

attorneys have to undergo

the fear-of-return interviews

without their legal represen-

tation.

Lawyers from Jewish

Family Service say that they

are routinely prevented from

sitting in on fear-of-return

interviews or speaking with

their clients to help them

prepare for the interview.

Most of the time, the law-

yers don’t know where their

clients are being inter-

viewed.

“We don’t know if it’s in

CBP custody, we don’t know

if they take them to the Otay

Mesa Detention Center or if

they are in a federal build-

ing,” said Leah Chavarria,

director of immigration

services with the nonprofit.

Chavarria has also had

difficulties communicating

with clients who are in cus-

tody waiting for the inter-

view.

This is particularly

alarming because of the

amount of preparation

needed to present a strong

enough case to pass these in-

terviews, she said.

In one case, Chavarria

was unable to speak with a

client who was in detention

for three days. Chavarria

was unsure if her client had

been given an interview or

even if she was still in U.S.

custody.

“We kept emailing and

calling to try to find them,”

she said. “At one point we

said we were going to con-

tact Mexican police because

we hadn’t seen them in 72

hours.”

Rummery said the

reason some attorneys have

not been allowed in fear-

of-return interviews is

because migrants are not

permitted counsel during in-

spections at the ports of en-

try and these interviews are

considered part of that in-

spection.

Even though migrants

can ask for another inter-

view if they are denied, some

are giving up because they

don’t want to be held in de-

tention for several days,

Gonzalez said.

“They say the detention

conditions are so bad that

they don’t know if they can

handle being detained

again,” Gonzalez said. “As

time goes by, people find it

difficult to make the deci-

sion of putting themselves —

and especially if they have

family members — their chil-

dren through that process

again.”

The policy essentially

forced migrants to wait in

Mexico until something hap-

pens to them, and after it

does, there is no guarantee

that they’ll be allowed to

wait in the United States, he

added.

Solis writes for the San

Diego Union-Tribune.

Migrants are denied lawyers, prep

Asylum seekers can

ask to wait in the U.S.,

but rarely are allowed

to do so, groups say.

By Gustavo Solis

IMMIGRATION LAWYERS say the U.S. is making it difficult for asylum-seeking migrants to pass an inter-

view showing they are in danger in Mexico, limiting access to lawyers and setting a high legal standard.

Sam HodgsonSan Diego Union-Tribune

tial tower, is slated to receive

more than $198 million from

the city, according to a re-

port issued last year.

The Grand won’t be com-

pleted until 2021, when either

Trump will start his second

term or the country will have

anew president. But one

longtime L.A. politician said

he is already “deeply con-

flicted” about whether to at-

tend the project’s opening.

Former state Senate

President Pro Tem Kevin de

León, who is running for a

City Council seat in a district

that includes downtown,

said he likes the fact that the

Equinox Hotel will provide

good union housekeeping

jobs, many of which will

likely be filled by Latino im-

migrants. But he argued

that Ross is “dancing with

the devil” by helping Trump.

“Raising money on both

sides of the aisle is par for the

course among the wealthy,”

he said. “But raising money

for a billionaire president

who embraces bigotry and

white nationalism is beyond

the pale — especially for the

city with the largest Latino

population in the nation.”

Ross and his wife hosted

Trump and various donors

at their home on Friday, with

tickets costing up to

$250,000. The event took

place less than a week after a

gunman killed 22 people in

El Paso, nearly all Mexican

Americans or Mexican na-

tionals.

The gunman issued a

manifesto before the massa-

cre railing against a Latino

“invasion” of Texas and con-

fessed to police that he had

targeted Mexicans, accord-

ing to an arrest affidavit.

Residents in El Paso and

elsewhere have drawn a link

between that message and

Trump’s frequent references

to an immigrant “invasion,”

as well as other derogatory

statements about Mexican

immigrants.

In recent days, Trump

has criticized some Demo-

crats for calling him a white

supremacist and argued

that mental illness was the

cause of the El Paso shoot-

ing. Ross, for his part, issued

his own statement saying he

disagrees with Trump on

many issues and engages in

politics out of a concern for

jobs and the economy.

“I have been, and will con-

tinue to be, an outspoken

champion of racial equality,

inclusion, diversity, public

education and environmen-

tal sustainability, and I have

and will continue to support

leaders on both sides of the

aisle to address these chal-

lenges,” he said.

Previously, L.A.’s politi-

cians have spoken enthusi-

astically about the Grand,

which Related is developing

in partnership with CORE

USA. When Related held a

groundbreaking in Febru-

ary, Councilman Jose

Huizar said the devel-

opment would cement

Grand Avenue’s reputation

as the city’s “preeminent

mecca for arts and culture.”

County Supervisor Hilda

Solis, whose district in-

cludes East Los Angeles and

the San Gabriel Valley,

called the project “a testa-

ment to the county’s innova-

tive approach to economic

development.”

Representatives of Solis

and Huizar did not respond

to inquiries. A spokesman

for Mayor Eric Garcetti had

nothing to say on the topic

when contacted by The

Times.

Last week, Equinox and

SoulCycle said they had

nothing to do with the

Trump fundraiser and did

not support it.

Gritzner, the Related

spokesman, described Ross

as a “minority investor” in

the fitness companies and

said he is not involved in

their day-to-day operations.

A key

figure

in L.A.

project

[E quinox,from B1]

‘Raising money

for a ... president

who embraces

bigotry and white

nationalism is

beyond the pale.’

—Kevin de León,

City Council candidate