1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,160 Speaker 1: Dear listener, a quick warning that this episode has some 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: descriptions of violence, including a brief mention of sexual violence. 3 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:11,440 Speaker 2: For most of his twenties, Elvis ran an internet cafe 4 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,319 Speaker 2: in a small town in the mountains outside Guatemala City, 5 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 2: and one day in twenty fourteen, he noticed this girl. 6 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:22,279 Speaker 2: She kept coming around to print out homework assignments, you 7 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 2: know what. The girl's name was Wendy, and Elvis says 8 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 2: he started noticing that she was printing out the same 9 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 2: assignment over and over again, so he teased her Liz. 10 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 2: He'd say, I just printed this for you yesterday, and 11 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 2: Wendy would say, well, printed again, which Elvis took as 12 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 2: a sign. But they liked each other. Eventually they started dating. 13 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 2: This is Wendy. 14 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 3: Even masalacin name Manoa almla, caminamere la. 15 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 2: They'd go to the movies, they'd wander around the mall 16 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 2: eating ice cream, though pretty soon they were inseparable. A 17 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 2: year after they started dating, they got married. Elvis was 18 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:19,400 Speaker 2: twenty eight, Wendy was twenty o. Wendy says it was 19 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 2: an unforgettable day. She especially loved her dress. It was 20 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 2: a fairytale wedding dress. With a poofy skirt and pearls 21 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:28,920 Speaker 2: all over the bust and a glittery tiara with. 22 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 4: A veil, but I see also. 23 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 2: They moved into an apartment on the lower level of 24 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 2: Wendy's parents' home. Wendy was a nursing school Elvis worked 25 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:45,680 Speaker 2: at his internet cafe. It was a sweet, quiet life, 26 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 2: but less than a year after their wedding, this was 27 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 2: a fall of twenty eighteen, Wendy's mom got an anonymous call. 28 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 2: The voice on the phone sounds cheerful, but this is 29 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 2: not a friendly call. This is an extortion. The caller 30 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,080 Speaker 2: asks for twenty thousand GIT sales. That's about twenty six 31 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 2: hundred U S dollars. Wendy's teenage brother is there with 32 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 2: her mom and they start to record a video. Wendy's 33 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 2: mom says, I don't know if I can pay. I 34 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 2: don't have the money, and at that point the call 35 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:35,919 Speaker 2: gets more aggressive. The caller says, if you're not going 36 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 2: to pay up, we're going to terrorize you, you know. 37 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 2: The caller says he's from one of the largest gangs 38 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 2: in Central America. Elvis asked us not to use the 39 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 2: name out of fear of retaliation. If you get a 40 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:50,959 Speaker 2: call like this and you don't pay up, the cost 41 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 2: can be very high. The caller says, if you don't pay, 42 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,240 Speaker 2: or if you go file a compleat it with the police, 43 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:09,600 Speaker 2: they'll kill Wendy's little brother, Danny, who's sitting there listening 44 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 2: to the call. They say they'll cut off his limbs 45 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 2: one at a time, and finally his head. The caller 46 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 2: knows a lot about the family. He knows their names 47 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 2: and where they live and what they all do for 48 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 2: a living. And after Danny, he turns to Elvis and Wendy. 49 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 2: He says they're watching Elvis and that if the family 50 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 2: doesn't pay up, they'll rape Wendy and dismember her to 51 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 2: and this phone call, it wouldn't be the last. 52 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: From Futuro Media. It's Latino USA. I'm Maria ino Josa. 53 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,840 Speaker 1: In the summer of twenty eighteen, just a couple of 54 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: months before Wendy's family got that extortion call, then Attorney 55 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: General Jeff Sessions spoke at a conference for immigration judges. 56 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 5: Thank you very much, thank you, it is great to 57 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 5: be with you, and say, this large crowd, and we'd 58 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 5: like to have a bigger crowd next year. We are 59 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 5: going to have one next year. 60 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:46,359 Speaker 1: And at the time he made this speech, Sessions was 61 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,240 Speaker 1: in the middle of orchestrating a massive overhaul to how 62 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: the immigration courts functioned, especially for people seeking asylum. 63 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 5: The asylum system is being abused to the detriment of 64 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 5: the rule of law, sound, the public policy, public safety. 65 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: Even Sessions thought that too many people were coming to 66 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 1: the US and using asylum as a kind of excuse 67 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 1: to get into the country. 68 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:13,760 Speaker 5: Asylum was never meant to alleviate all problems, even all 69 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 5: serious problems that people face every day all over the world. 70 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: So he lays out some of the big changes he's making, 71 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: like pushing judges to make decisions about cases more quickly. 72 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 5: We have to be very productive. Volume is critical, it 73 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:30,800 Speaker 5: just is. 74 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,359 Speaker 1: And narrowing the reasons people can get asylum. 75 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 5: In my judgment, this will be a correct interpretation of 76 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:42,360 Speaker 5: the law, and it will be your duty, of course, 77 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 5: to carry that out. 78 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:47,800 Speaker 1: His goal was to change the calculus for people who 79 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:49,760 Speaker 1: were heading to the US Mexico border. 80 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 5: The world will know what our rules are and great 81 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 5: numbers will no longer undertake this dangerous journey. The number 82 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 5: of illegal aliens and the number of baseless claims will 83 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 5: fall now. 84 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 1: As you may remember, Sessions resigned about five months after 85 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: this speech. 86 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 5: Thank you all and God bless. 87 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:19,040 Speaker 1: But the changes he was making to immigration courts, they 88 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: would live on without him. Our story today is co 89 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: reported with Documented, a nonprofit news site that covers immigrants 90 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,840 Speaker 1: in New York City co founded by Max Siegelbaum and 91 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 1: Mazin Sidakhmed in twenty nineteen. They sent reporters inside the 92 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:43,479 Speaker 1: immigration court system from when they opened until they closed, 93 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:46,840 Speaker 1: five days a week for three months to sit in 94 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 1: on hundreds of immigration hearings, and what they observed there 95 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: was an asylum system that has become an increasingly punishing 96 00:06:54,720 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: process to navigate, especially for Central Americans. Documented brings us 97 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: the couple at the center of our story today, Wendy 98 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:08,480 Speaker 1: and Elvis. At the beginning of this piece, you heard 99 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: from Latino USA producer Alisa Scarce. She's now going to 100 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: continue telling their story, and a note here that we're 101 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 1: identifying them only by their first names for their safety. 102 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: Alisa picks it up from here. 103 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 2: After that first extortion call, Wendy's family got really scared. 104 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:31,240 Speaker 2: They knew these were not empty threats. The news was 105 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 2: full of stories about people who'd been killed after failing 106 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,119 Speaker 2: to pay an extortion, but Wendy says her family didn't 107 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 2: have the money and so instead, that same day they 108 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 2: decided to do exactly what they'd been told not to. 109 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 2: They filed a complaint with Guatemala's Public Ministry. Elvis says, 110 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 2: it's like the Guatemala FBI. They decided to skip the 111 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 2: local police because they were worried they were tied up 112 00:07:55,560 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 2: with the gangs, which is also common. When his mom 113 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 2: left her phone so the authorities could investigate, and a 114 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:12,400 Speaker 2: week later, Wendy says, the family got a call from 115 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 2: the Public Ministry the investigation was complete. Nando car when 116 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 2: his parents went to pick up the phone, and when, 117 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 2: he says, the investigators told them they knew who was calling. 118 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 2: The extortionist was a known criminal and he was calling 119 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 2: from inside a prison. 120 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 4: Persona. 121 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 2: Wendy says, the investigator told them that there wasn't anything 122 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 2: they could do since the caller was already in prison. 123 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:00,120 Speaker 2: That was as far as the investigation would go. Oh, 124 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 2: we called the Public Ministry several times to ask about this, 125 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:06,600 Speaker 2: but we weren't able to get any more information. But 126 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 2: knowing the caller was in prison, didn't do much to 127 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:13,080 Speaker 2: make Wendy's family feel safer. Gangs and Guatemala often use 128 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 2: prisons as a kind of headquarters. The Guatemalan police itself 129 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:19,719 Speaker 2: has reported that the vast majority of extortions have a 130 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 2: link to a prison. 131 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:31,520 Speaker 3: Giles was assailable burgas persona's qui aeso. 132 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 2: Wendy's family figured the caller had plenty of people on 133 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:39,920 Speaker 2: the outside doing his bidding, So Wendy's mom closed for 134 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 2: laundry service and Elvis packed up his internet cafe and 135 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:46,079 Speaker 2: they moved their whole lives to a town three hours away. 136 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 2: But over the next couple months, the threats kept coming. 137 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:54,960 Speaker 2: They'd get texts with photos of mutilated bodies. At one point, 138 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:57,559 Speaker 2: Elvis says he was pulled over by two police officers 139 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 2: who recommended he pay the gang. Then a guy on 140 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 2: a red motorcycle showed up at their old house looking 141 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 2: for them, and he threatened the man who was living 142 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 2: there when the man wouldn't tell him where the family 143 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:11,280 Speaker 2: had gone, So the family filed another report with the authorities, 144 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:23,200 Speaker 2: and again Wendy says, nothing happened, and at that point 145 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 2: the family's calculus started to change. Two months after that 146 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 2: first extortion call, Wendy's mom decided that she was going 147 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 2: to take Wendy's little brother, Danny, the one who the 148 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 2: gang had threatened to chop into pieces, and take him 149 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:40,440 Speaker 2: as far away as she could get him. Wendy had 150 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:42,760 Speaker 2: two older brothers who'd been living on Long Island for 151 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 2: about a decade, and so in November twenty eighteen, Wendy's 152 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:50,080 Speaker 2: mom took Danny and set out to join them to. 153 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:51,599 Speaker 6: This the isn't but I don't know, said created in 154 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 6: the foot on us. 155 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:55,079 Speaker 2: The family started pushing Elvis and Wendy to leave too, 156 00:10:55,640 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 2: and at first Elvis resisted. He'd read a lot in 157 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 2: the news about how hard life could get for people 158 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:08,719 Speaker 2: who tried to cross the border without papers. But then 159 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:11,760 Speaker 2: just after the new year, Wendy got one more piece 160 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:13,080 Speaker 2: of information. 161 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 3: Jamisonatula aliki sis time is momento complical. 162 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:26,920 Speaker 2: Wendy took a pregnancy test and it came out positive, 163 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 2: which normally would have been great news. They were excited 164 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:32,560 Speaker 2: to have their first kid and had already talked about 165 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:35,320 Speaker 2: baby names, but this was not the world that they 166 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 2: wanted to bring a baby into, and the threatening phone 167 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:40,960 Speaker 2: calls were still coming is. 168 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,120 Speaker 6: That even on the tomla Is on the em But 169 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 6: because that went of his. 170 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 2: Own, they decided it was time to go. They were 171 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:50,640 Speaker 2: going to the United States to ask for asylum. They 172 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,599 Speaker 2: left that same month, in January of twenty nineteen, and 173 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 2: the trip itself was pretty easy. Coyotes were charging around 174 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,199 Speaker 2: five thousand dollars a person at the time, so Elvis 175 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 2: sold his car barrow some money and they headed north 176 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 2: and Cruz, first by bus to Vera Cruz on Mexico's 177 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 2: Atlantic coast, then by plane to Renosa, just across the 178 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 2: border from South Texas. And at that point Elvis thought 179 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 2: that coyote was going to drop them off at an 180 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:19,839 Speaker 2: official port of entry, which is where you're supposed to 181 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 2: apply for asylum, but instead they were taking to the 182 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,439 Speaker 2: Rio Grande and piled into rafts halfway across. They got 183 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 2: out and started to walk. The current was strong, but 184 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:33,199 Speaker 2: they made it to the other side HeLa Rio He. 185 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:39,559 Speaker 2: As they climbed out of the river, pain ripped through 186 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:45,319 Speaker 2: the side of Wendy's belly, and as they started walking 187 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:47,400 Speaker 2: through the desert, the pain kept coming. 188 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:49,560 Speaker 4: Santhia Como. 189 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 3: Comalcaminaria, hallong Hey, Ronol fail. 190 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,000 Speaker 2: It was strong and it pulled through her body as 191 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 2: she walked. Wendy remembers walking for about an hour and 192 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:08,360 Speaker 2: a half before they were picked up by Border patrol agents, 193 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:10,839 Speaker 2: and she was scared as they lined them up and 194 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,880 Speaker 2: drove them to a detention center. They took their photos 195 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 2: and fingerprints, and Wendy told the officers about the pain 196 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:21,600 Speaker 2: in her belly, and then in a moment, it seems 197 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 2: more meaningful now than it did at the time, she says. 198 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:28,920 Speaker 2: The agent started dividing them into cells, men on one side, 199 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 2: women on the other. Wendy remembers hugging Elvis for a 200 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,520 Speaker 2: few minutes, and then she followed the other women into 201 00:13:52,559 --> 00:14:04,640 Speaker 2: the women's cell. Elvis watched her walk away now, he says, 202 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:07,880 Speaker 2: their hair was all messy and Wendy's pregnant belly was 203 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 2: just starting to poke out. That night, Wendy says guards 204 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:14,040 Speaker 2: took her to the hospital to have the pain checked out. 205 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,360 Speaker 2: She was worried about the baby, but the doctor examined 206 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,720 Speaker 2: her and he told her the baby was fine. She 207 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:24,200 Speaker 2: was relieved and was taken back to the detention centers. 208 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:29,479 Speaker 4: I said, yen Via, you suppose. 209 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,760 Speaker 2: But when she got back, no Elvis. He wasn't in 210 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 2: the cell where she'd seen him before she left. 211 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 4: La Misella. 212 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 2: So Wendy went around and she asked the women in 213 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,400 Speaker 2: her cell if they knew where he'd been taken, but 214 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 2: all they could tell her was that he'd been moved somewhere, 215 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:57,760 Speaker 2: they didn't know where. And then the next day, Wendy 216 00:14:57,880 --> 00:14:59,760 Speaker 2: was told she was going to be released because she 217 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:02,840 Speaker 2: was pregnant. I lets out pregnant women on a case 218 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 2: by case basis, so she would get to wait for 219 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 2: her immigration court date from her brother's home on Long Island. 220 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:11,520 Speaker 2: Her older brother got her a bus ticket to Dallas 221 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 2: and a flight to New York. She'd never traveled alone before. 222 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:25,240 Speaker 2: She spent the whole trip crying no, no, Kardia. She 223 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:27,560 Speaker 2: didn't want to separate from Elvis, and she didn't know 224 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 2: what was going to happen. She didn't even know where. 225 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:30,560 Speaker 3: He was. 226 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 1: Coming up on Latino, USA. Well, Wendy settles into New York, 227 00:15:40,800 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 1: Elvis embarks on a very different journey. Stay with us, Hey, 228 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 1: we're back. And before the break, Wendy was released from 229 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:37,880 Speaker 1: immigration detention and had gone to stay with her family 230 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,040 Speaker 1: on Long Island, but Elvis was kept behind Let You Know. 231 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,280 Speaker 1: USA producer Alissa Scarce picks up the story from here. 232 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,680 Speaker 2: Back in Texas, Elvis was actually still at the same 233 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 2: detention facility, and he'd been assuming he'd be released along 234 00:16:52,520 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 2: with Wendy. Was he I don't know, A yeah, okay, God, 235 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:04,679 Speaker 2: But then he says, a guard told him that Wendy 236 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 2: had gotten out, and yet a sinking feeling that he 237 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 2: was going to be in detention for a while. This 238 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,720 Speaker 2: is the point where Wendy and Elvis's journeys would split. 239 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:18,639 Speaker 2: Elvis would end up navigating the asylum process from inside 240 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 2: a detention system that has ballooned under Trump. Between the 241 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:25,520 Speaker 2: end of the Obama administration and July of twenty nineteen, 242 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:28,239 Speaker 2: the number of people in ice detention has increased by 243 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:31,200 Speaker 2: more than a third, And to hear Elvis talk about 244 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,320 Speaker 2: his time in detention is like hearing a montage. 245 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 6: Of Missouri Hey Jana Para Mississippi. 246 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:45,159 Speaker 2: A few days after Wendy left, guards woke Elvis up 247 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:48,439 Speaker 2: before dawn. They stopped on handcuffs, and they put him 248 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:51,760 Speaker 2: on a freezing cold bus to a detention center in Mississippi. 249 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:52,440 Speaker 7: Here. 250 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:56,480 Speaker 2: A couple months after that, he was strapped into handcuffs 251 00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,600 Speaker 2: again and transferred to another detention center. This one was 252 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,320 Speaker 2: in Louis, Siena, and he was assigned to a bunk 253 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:04,560 Speaker 2: bed in a massive room he shared with about one 254 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:13,720 Speaker 2: hundred other people. He says some people would sleep in 255 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 2: the morning, others would sleep in the afternoon. It felt 256 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:19,639 Speaker 2: like they were taking turns keeping the place noisy constantly. 257 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:22,879 Speaker 2: It was hard to sleep. Plus there were fights, and 258 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:24,840 Speaker 2: you had to wait in line with like twenty people 259 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 2: to use the microwave, and the bathrooms had these toilets 260 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:29,600 Speaker 2: that were just out in the open where everyone. 261 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:35,000 Speaker 6: Could see, yes Bslo Marius a looker. 262 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:39,600 Speaker 2: He says being detained was so horrible. The only thing 263 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:47,320 Speaker 2: he could imagine being worse was death. And his only 264 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 2: connection to the outside world was through the phone. Phone 265 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:53,879 Speaker 2: calls were expensive, about three dollars for every fifteen minutes. 266 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,280 Speaker 2: Wendy's older brother would put money in Elvis's account and 267 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:01,080 Speaker 2: he called Wendy every day, and on one of their calls, 268 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 2: when you recorded Elvis talking to the baby over the 269 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:08,159 Speaker 2: grainy jail phone, afterwards, she'd play the recordings over and 270 00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 2: over again. She'd press her cell phone up to her 271 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:13,480 Speaker 2: belly so the baby would get used to Elvis's voice. 272 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:22,480 Speaker 2: He says, hello, my love, my princess. I want you 273 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,400 Speaker 2: to know I love you very much. I'm your dad. 274 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:29,800 Speaker 8: Kill me. 275 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 2: I know you're not used to hearing my voice, but 276 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:40,360 Speaker 2: I think about you every day. The baby was due 277 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,720 Speaker 2: in early September of twenty nineteen, which was seven months 278 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,200 Speaker 2: after Elvis was first detained, and Elvis really wanted to 279 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:53,520 Speaker 2: be there when she was born. He says he thinks 280 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,880 Speaker 2: it's every father's dream and the only way for him 281 00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 2: to achieve that dream was to get out of detention 282 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 2: on bo which is basically when a judge agrees to 283 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:04,880 Speaker 2: release you while you wait for your hearings in exchange 284 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 2: for a cash deposit. An acquaintance of Wendy's brother recommended 285 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:10,680 Speaker 2: a lawyer, and the family hired him to take on 286 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:14,480 Speaker 2: Elvis's case. Over the next few months, Elvis had a 287 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:17,360 Speaker 2: credible fear interview and an early hearing that was sort 288 00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:20,720 Speaker 2: of a false start, and records from immigration court hearings 289 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:24,000 Speaker 2: are hard to get, but through our collaboration with Documented, 290 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:27,360 Speaker 2: we were able to get audio recordings from Elvis's later hearings, 291 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,359 Speaker 2: and what would be clear in listening to those recordings 292 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:33,680 Speaker 2: is that Elvis encountered a long series of challenges and 293 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 2: mishaps that, according to the reporting done by Documented, have 294 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:39,119 Speaker 2: become the norm in the immigration courts. 295 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:41,080 Speaker 8: Good afternoon, everybody. 296 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:43,359 Speaker 9: This is Immigration Judge Joy and Merriman appearing from the 297 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,639 Speaker 9: Batavia Immigration Court. We are here on a matter that 298 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:51,640 Speaker 9: is being conducted via video teleconference from the Richward, Louisiana's 299 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:52,640 Speaker 9: attention to Sololly. 300 00:20:53,119 --> 00:20:55,359 Speaker 2: The first hearing we have, Audio four, is from early 301 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:58,399 Speaker 2: in the summer of twenty nineteen. At this point, Elvis 302 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:01,800 Speaker 2: has been sitting in attention for about five months. Wendy 303 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:04,680 Speaker 2: is about seven months pregnant. And before we get into 304 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:06,920 Speaker 2: this hearing, let me take a second to set the scene. 305 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,040 Speaker 2: Judge Merriman is sitting in a courtroom that's inside an 306 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:13,719 Speaker 2: immigration detention center in upstate New York. She's sitting there 307 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 2: with a government attorney. 308 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:17,359 Speaker 9: And we have Fazia Maddingly here on behalf of the 309 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 9: Department of Homeland Security. 310 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 2: Elvis, on the other hand, is in a little white 311 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:25,440 Speaker 2: room inside the detention center in Louisiana, watching everything go 312 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:28,600 Speaker 2: down over a TV screen. He's sitting next to an 313 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:29,640 Speaker 2: interpreter who. 314 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:32,479 Speaker 8: Is conducting simultaneous translation. 315 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:35,080 Speaker 2: And their faces are being beamed onto another screen that 316 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:37,439 Speaker 2: the judge and the government lawyer can see on their end. 317 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:40,680 Speaker 2: This kind of setup has gotten way more common under Trump, 318 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:44,040 Speaker 2: even though a report from twenty seventeen from the Immigration 319 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:47,399 Speaker 2: court system itself found that having hearings over video conference 320 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:51,040 Speaker 2: could lead to do process issues. And actually most people 321 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 2: at this detention center in Louisiana have their cases heard 322 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:57,320 Speaker 2: by judges in upstate New York. Since the immigration system 323 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:01,160 Speaker 2: is federal immigration judges can hear cases from anywhere. Elvis's 324 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:04,160 Speaker 2: lawyer is on the phone, his name is Benjamin Bradder. 325 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:08,119 Speaker 8: To get a copy of the notice to appear, Sir, I. 326 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:08,840 Speaker 7: Did you honor? 327 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:12,359 Speaker 2: And things start going wrong in this hearing pretty quickly. 328 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:15,680 Speaker 2: Elvis had thought that his lawyer had already submitted his 329 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:19,000 Speaker 2: asylum application, but it turns out he hasn't yet, So 330 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:21,480 Speaker 2: the judge gives him a few more weeks, and then 331 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 2: the judge offers to talk about bond. 332 00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 9: The respondent is on my docket for a bond hearing? 333 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:28,359 Speaker 9: Did you want to have a bond hearing today? 334 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 2: Which would mean Elvis would have a shot at getting 335 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:32,160 Speaker 2: out your honor. 336 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:34,240 Speaker 8: Actually having some issues with my line. 337 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:35,399 Speaker 7: I don't know if you could put me on the. 338 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:36,640 Speaker 8: Back of the calendar for the bomb. 339 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 2: But the lawyer is having some kind of issue with 340 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 2: his phone line, so he's asking if the judge can 341 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:44,199 Speaker 2: hear the other cases on her schedule and then come 342 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:44,800 Speaker 2: back to him. 343 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:47,480 Speaker 9: That's pretty hard to do. I hate to say it 344 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:53,119 Speaker 9: only because I am so overwhelmed that it's kind of 345 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 9: do a die right now. 346 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,119 Speaker 2: Basically, the judge is saying, I'm too busy to do 347 00:22:57,240 --> 00:22:59,919 Speaker 2: that today. She has a lot of cases to get through, 348 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,200 Speaker 2: so instead she offers to reschedule. 349 00:23:02,359 --> 00:23:04,280 Speaker 9: Okay, mister Brader, see you on the or hear you 350 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,400 Speaker 9: on the twenty first, thank much. 351 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:07,679 Speaker 8: Okay, you're very welcome. 352 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:11,639 Speaker 2: That's August twenty first, which is more than a month away, 353 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 2: and that means Elvis has to wait again before he 354 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:18,240 Speaker 2: can have another shot at getting out, and he is fuming. 355 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,400 Speaker 2: So another few weeks pass. They're a blur of sleepless 356 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,720 Speaker 2: nights and microwave lines, and when the next hearing rolls around, 357 00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:30,400 Speaker 2: Elvis is somehow still hopeful. 358 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:39,280 Speaker 6: Confianza Mia, okay me Nina. 359 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:42,160 Speaker 2: The baby is due in just a couple of weeks. 360 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,560 Speaker 2: At this point, and Elvis thinks he has a shot 361 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:46,399 Speaker 2: at being there for the birth. He was going to 362 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,280 Speaker 2: have the same judges before, and he liked her. He 363 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:51,800 Speaker 2: thought that she listened to people and was fair. And 364 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:53,879 Speaker 2: he says he heard a lot of other people in 365 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,480 Speaker 2: his detention center who had that judge did get out 366 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 2: on bond. 367 00:23:57,359 --> 00:23:58,960 Speaker 8: This is a continued matter for you. 368 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:03,360 Speaker 9: You're I five eighty nine, sir, was submitted by your attorney, 369 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:04,119 Speaker 9: mister Brader. 370 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:06,960 Speaker 2: I have received it, and this time his lawyer has 371 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 2: submitted the asylum paperwork. 372 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 9: However, when I called your attorney, mister Brader, who asked 373 00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:16,800 Speaker 9: to appear here telephonically today, he failed to answer the 374 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:20,080 Speaker 9: telephone and my call went through to his voicemail. 375 00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:23,280 Speaker 2: The judge called the lawyer one time, and the lawyer 376 00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:26,840 Speaker 2: missed the call. Elvis's heart drops, and for the first 377 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:29,120 Speaker 2: time in these hearings, he speaks. 378 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:31,040 Speaker 4: Up one of layers. 379 00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:32,560 Speaker 8: I was wondering if you can't call back. 380 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,119 Speaker 2: That's the interpreter. He's translating what Elvis says into English. 381 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:38,520 Speaker 9: There's no reason for me to call back, sir. I 382 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:41,679 Speaker 9: called and he didn't answer. I'm not going to give 383 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:42,680 Speaker 9: him a second chance. 384 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:45,679 Speaker 2: The judge says that letting lawyers appear over the phone 385 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:49,080 Speaker 2: is a privilege, which technically it is. A judge can 386 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 2: require a lawyer to show up in person. We reached 387 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,320 Speaker 2: out to Benjamin Bradder to ask him what happened here. 388 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 2: What he says is that the call went straight to 389 00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:59,880 Speaker 2: his voicemail. He also says that he did call back, 390 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,400 Speaker 2: but that he couldn't get through to the judge, which 391 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,160 Speaker 2: other lawyers say does happen. 392 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:08,760 Speaker 9: The court cannot just just I'll tell you why. The 393 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:12,639 Speaker 9: court has very limited time and resources. I still have 394 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:17,879 Speaker 9: forty more cases this afternoon. My interpreter, the Department of 395 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 9: Homeland Security's attorney, my legal assistant, they all need to 396 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:25,280 Speaker 9: take a lunch break because this is. 397 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:26,400 Speaker 8: A very heavy dug. 398 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:29,800 Speaker 2: Once again, the judge is saying that she's too busy. 399 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 9: So unfortunately, I've had to reset it to my next 400 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:39,560 Speaker 9: date of availability, which I do realize is out to October. 401 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:44,200 Speaker 2: Second, October second. That's another six weeks, and when he's 402 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:47,960 Speaker 2: due date is in early September, October second is too late. 403 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,240 Speaker 2: So Elvis is sitting in the little white room watching 404 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:55,359 Speaker 2: his fab he decided over video conference, and he tries 405 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,440 Speaker 2: to fight back the only way he can, by injecting 406 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:09,200 Speaker 2: his very human dilemma into this very bureaucratic setting. Please 407 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:11,600 Speaker 2: take notice that I've been in prison for seven months 408 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:13,560 Speaker 2: and my wife is about to have a child. 409 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:16,719 Speaker 8: Sir, I do take notice of that. I'm sorry your 410 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 8: attorney didn't. 411 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:20,600 Speaker 2: All he needs is for his hearing to get rescheduled 412 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:23,520 Speaker 2: a little sooner, but the judge says her schedule is 413 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:31,360 Speaker 2: too full for that. In that moment, as he realizes 414 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 2: he's going to miss his first child being born, something 415 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:36,880 Speaker 2: shifts in the way Elvis is thinking about this whole thing. 416 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 2: He's suddenly overwhelmed by this feeling that this is not 417 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:43,040 Speaker 2: going to work out, and so he asked the judge 418 00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:45,600 Speaker 2: for something maybe unexpected. 419 00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:49,360 Speaker 10: Your honor, I just prefer my deportation. 420 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,760 Speaker 7: It's going, but I can't wait much longer. 421 00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:59,720 Speaker 9: I'm sorry, I am not comfortable. I cannot go forward 422 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:01,800 Speaker 9: with your peace ortation today. 423 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:04,480 Speaker 2: The judge says she's worried in that moment that he 424 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:08,000 Speaker 2: isn't making a rational decision. She says that if he's serious, 425 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:09,959 Speaker 2: he should submit the request in writing. 426 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:12,400 Speaker 8: I wish you the best. Please take time to think 427 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:13,400 Speaker 8: about what he was doing. 428 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:21,199 Speaker 6: Does as May. 429 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:27,200 Speaker 2: After he left the courtroom that day, Elvis cried and 430 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 2: then he got very depressed. It felt like this opportunity 431 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 2: to be back with his family had been in reach 432 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:36,120 Speaker 2: and then had slipped through his fingers for reasons completely 433 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 2: outside his control. Two weeks past, and sure enough, around 434 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:46,680 Speaker 2: two am one night in early September, Wendy started to 435 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:49,960 Speaker 2: have contractions. Her brother drove her to the hospital, and 436 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:52,560 Speaker 2: her mom sat with her as she pushed. The baby 437 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,920 Speaker 2: was born just before ten o'clock in the morning. Half 438 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:58,480 Speaker 2: an hour later, Elvis called and he asked how she 439 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:13,200 Speaker 2: was doing, and when he told Elvis, congratulations, your father, 440 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:18,359 Speaker 2: your baby was just born. Elvis had known this was coming, 441 00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:22,360 Speaker 2: but still, in that moment it was a lot to process. 442 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:23,480 Speaker 6: Not the boys. 443 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:36,119 Speaker 2: He was glad the baby was born healthy, but mostly 444 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:38,360 Speaker 2: he was sad to have missed it, and he was 445 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 2: sad about all the other things he was going to miss, 446 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:44,120 Speaker 2: like holding her while she was small. They named the 447 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:53,640 Speaker 2: baby Emily. Elvis decides to stick with the asylum process 448 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:57,240 Speaker 2: a little longer. Then he has another hearing that gets postponed, 449 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:02,080 Speaker 2: and then this story takes a strange Elvis's lawyer, Benjamin 450 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:05,160 Speaker 2: Bradder gets suspended from the practice of law for a 451 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:10,080 Speaker 2: year because of misconduct towards past immigrant clients. Brader didn't 452 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 2: want to comment on his suspension, and as far as 453 00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:14,240 Speaker 2: we know, it didn't have anything to do with Elvis's case, 454 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:16,200 Speaker 2: but it did leave Elvis hanging. 455 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:20,640 Speaker 11: Unfortunately, there's a lot of unscrupulous attorneys. Are attorneys who 456 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:27,440 Speaker 11: get caught up in trying to make money off of 457 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:31,840 Speaker 11: these crises and just do a really poor job. 458 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:35,240 Speaker 2: That's Jodi Ziesmer. She's an immigration lawyer at the New 459 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:38,640 Speaker 2: York Legal Assistance Group, which is a nonprofit legal aid organization. 460 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:42,080 Speaker 2: She says there's a bigger pattern of immigrants getting taken 461 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:45,880 Speaker 2: advantage of by lawyers who aren't that great. Elvis's case 462 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:48,480 Speaker 2: got referred to Jody and she took a look at it, 463 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:50,160 Speaker 2: and she thought it was pretty strong. 464 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:55,360 Speaker 11: What makes this case distinct is that many people flee 465 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:59,600 Speaker 11: after they start getting extorted and getting threats by gangs. 466 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 11: But this family actually opens an investigation, not with the 467 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 11: local police department, with like basically the equivalent of the FBI, 468 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:12,200 Speaker 11: so like a national investigatory agency. 469 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:15,280 Speaker 2: The reason this matters is that to get asylum, one 470 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:16,720 Speaker 2: of the things you have to show is that the 471 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:20,080 Speaker 2: government of your country either persecuted you directly or didn't 472 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:22,920 Speaker 2: stop somebody else from doing it. So Jodie thinks he 473 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:27,680 Speaker 2: has a decent shot. Elvis's next day in court is 474 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:32,200 Speaker 2: set for November of twenty nineteen, and it's actually two hearings. First, 475 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,960 Speaker 2: finally a bond hearing, and then a really crucial hearing, 476 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:38,800 Speaker 2: potentially the final one for the judge will decide whether 477 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 2: or not he gets asylum. He's assigned to a different judge, 478 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 2: this time at a court in New York City, and 479 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:47,080 Speaker 2: again he's going to attend virtually, but now when you 480 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:49,680 Speaker 2: can go in person. So she has her brother drive 481 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:52,040 Speaker 2: her to the courthouse that morning, and they have a 482 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 2: hard time finding parking, so her brother drops her off 483 00:30:54,880 --> 00:31:01,560 Speaker 2: if it's starting to rain. As Wendy climbs out of 484 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:04,320 Speaker 2: the car with the baby in her arms, Emily's two 485 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 2: months old. Now, they meet Jody in the courtroom and 486 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:08,360 Speaker 2: settle into one of the benches in the. 487 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:15,240 Speaker 4: Back jec Tris and Piecella. 488 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:19,280 Speaker 2: Now two or three minutes later, the judge walks in 489 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:22,080 Speaker 2: and Elvis's bond hearing begins. 490 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:24,880 Speaker 12: Well, the record is immigration Judge or two rep in 491 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:26,640 Speaker 12: York para street immigration corpse. 492 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:30,160 Speaker 2: This judge, Forrest Hoover, is very new to the bench. 493 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:33,640 Speaker 2: He was appointed just a few weeks before. He's one 494 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:36,240 Speaker 2: of a couple hundred new immigration judges appointed during the 495 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:39,560 Speaker 2: Trump administration, and like many of these new judges, his 496 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:42,400 Speaker 2: last job was as a military lawyer and he had 497 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:45,320 Speaker 2: basically no experience with immigration. He sits at the front 498 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:47,520 Speaker 2: of the room and Jody sits at a desk across 499 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 2: from him. 500 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:51,280 Speaker 10: The I E. 501 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:53,760 Speaker 4: S E M E R with the New York Table 502 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,040 Speaker 4: assistance grip apparent for the respondent. 503 00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:59,200 Speaker 2: Jody presents her arguments for why Elvis should get bond. 504 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:02,120 Speaker 2: She has to convince the judge that Elvis is going 505 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:03,800 Speaker 2: to show up for his court hearings and that he 506 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:04,920 Speaker 2: isn't going to hurt anybody. 507 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:07,560 Speaker 11: He has got the last record, he has passed a 508 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:11,000 Speaker 11: credible fear interview and has submitted this application for astylum. 509 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,760 Speaker 8: We believe he is neither a flight risk nor a danger. 510 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:15,200 Speaker 11: To the community. 511 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:19,480 Speaker 2: And then just like that, the judge simply said no. 512 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:22,400 Speaker 7: Or does find and responding as a flight risk and 513 00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 7: I'm going to go back to stand to seating that 514 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:25,520 Speaker 7: he want. 515 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:29,720 Speaker 2: The judge denies bond, denying his requests for bond entirely. 516 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:31,680 Speaker 11: You could set a high bond and we could figure 517 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:33,160 Speaker 11: out how to come together with that. 518 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:35,760 Speaker 9: He is how is he a flight risk? 519 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 11: And I asked for a legal reasoning for the denial 520 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,120 Speaker 11: and he just turned off the record and walked out 521 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:47,840 Speaker 11: of the courtroom, which is pretty unusual. 522 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:50,400 Speaker 2: Jody says, what should happen at the end of any 523 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:53,160 Speaker 2: ruling is that the judge explains why they're ruling the 524 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:56,280 Speaker 2: way they are. I mean, that's what the judge's job is. 525 00:32:57,200 --> 00:32:59,040 Speaker 2: So the fact that he just got up and left, 526 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:02,960 Speaker 2: I was perplexed. We reached out to the Immigration Court 527 00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:04,920 Speaker 2: to try to talk to Judge Hoober and what they 528 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:07,640 Speaker 2: told us is that immigration judges do not give interviews, 529 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:10,600 Speaker 2: so we couldn't ask him about this directly. But Jody 530 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:13,720 Speaker 2: says that in her experience, most judges give more detailed 531 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:16,200 Speaker 2: explanations of the law and how they think it applies 532 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:20,920 Speaker 2: to a person's situation. So they're all sitting there waiting 533 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:22,680 Speaker 2: for the judge to come back in for the second 534 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,520 Speaker 2: part of the hearing, and then Jody decides to make 535 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:27,760 Speaker 2: use of having Elvis on the video screen. 536 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:33,280 Speaker 11: So at that point I asked the government attorney if 537 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:37,880 Speaker 11: I could have the wife and the newborn baby come 538 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:43,600 Speaker 11: into like the actual court setting and introduce the baby 539 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:47,120 Speaker 11: to my client or the video so they could actually 540 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:47,760 Speaker 11: see each other. 541 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:51,760 Speaker 2: Wendy walks up to the TV and it's a shock 542 00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:55,200 Speaker 2: to see Elvis like this in his khaki detention center uniform. 543 00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:57,360 Speaker 2: Then he starts to talk. 544 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:02,760 Speaker 3: You can, yeah, let's get joy and Possesson ray Yes, 545 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:07,480 Speaker 3: the lats Ampaia. 546 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,000 Speaker 2: When the baby hears him, she starts to smile and 547 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:14,719 Speaker 2: wave at the camera. Wendy thinks she recognizes Elvis's voice 548 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:21,560 Speaker 2: from that recording. To Elvis, it looks like Emily is 549 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:24,120 Speaker 2: trying to climb through the camera and into his arms. 550 00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:26,600 Speaker 2: He's heard the baby over the phone at this point, 551 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:29,319 Speaker 2: and Wendy had sent him some photos, but he's never 552 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:36,600 Speaker 2: seen her move or smile or make a sound. Eventually, 553 00:34:36,719 --> 00:34:39,520 Speaker 2: the judge comes back into the room and now Elvis's 554 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:42,080 Speaker 2: second hearing starts, the one where the judge is going 555 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:45,120 Speaker 2: to decide whether he gets asylum, And at this point 556 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:47,640 Speaker 2: Judy actually goes back to sit with Wendy in the 557 00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:48,640 Speaker 2: back of the courtroom. 558 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:52,520 Speaker 11: So I had indicated to the judge that I would 559 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:56,160 Speaker 11: not be appearing as the attorney for the second for 560 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:59,320 Speaker 11: the merits hearing on the actual immigration removal case. 561 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:03,120 Speaker 2: The reason she does this is Jody got Elvis's case 562 00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:05,759 Speaker 2: pretty late in the game, in fact, only ten days 563 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:08,759 Speaker 2: before his hearing, so even though she represented him for 564 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:11,080 Speaker 2: the bond hearing, she doesn't think she's had enough time 565 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:14,600 Speaker 2: to prepare to talk about his actual asylum claim. She 566 00:35:14,719 --> 00:35:17,000 Speaker 2: says she'd normally spend months preparing. 567 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:20,080 Speaker 11: So she tells the judge that I did not feel 568 00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:23,360 Speaker 11: that I could athletically represent this person, and furthermore that 569 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:26,960 Speaker 11: I don't think any good attorney could astically represent the 570 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:28,680 Speaker 11: person in this scenario. 571 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:32,160 Speaker 2: And because of the issues with Elvis's old lawyer, Jody 572 00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:34,719 Speaker 2: thought Elvis had a good case for getting some extra time, 573 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:37,160 Speaker 2: So they decided that Elvis would ask the judge for 574 00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:39,520 Speaker 2: that time, and Jody sits down in the back to 575 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:42,600 Speaker 2: watch the judge, for whom. 576 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:44,520 Speaker 12: The New York Lelloine Street Immigration Court we're here today 577 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:45,600 Speaker 12: for conting to remove their. 578 00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:46,399 Speaker 8: Seedlings in the place. 579 00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:49,440 Speaker 2: Elvis tells the judge about his lawyer situation and about 580 00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:58,080 Speaker 2: how he just started working with Jody to my attorney, 581 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:01,120 Speaker 2: and the judge says, well, you've known about this hearing 582 00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:02,000 Speaker 2: for a few weeks. 583 00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:05,560 Speaker 12: Why did you request a continuance after you found out 584 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:07,080 Speaker 12: your attorney had to be expended? 585 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:10,439 Speaker 2: A continuance is the legal term for asking for more time. 586 00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:14,600 Speaker 2: He's saying Elvis should have filed the request before this hearing. 587 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:19,880 Speaker 7: Where he was in university. Is judge that. 588 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:22,000 Speaker 8: The knowledge. 589 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:24,920 Speaker 2: The judge asked a couple more questions, but ultimately he 590 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:27,000 Speaker 2: comes to his decision quickly. 591 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:32,160 Speaker 8: So I have to deny a requests for a continuance. 592 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:34,960 Speaker 2: He says, basically that he can't find a reason to 593 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:44,239 Speaker 2: give Elvis more time. So Elvis is going to have 594 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:47,200 Speaker 2: to finish out this hearing on his own. He's going 595 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:50,239 Speaker 2: to have to argue for asylum for himself without a lawyer, 596 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:53,000 Speaker 2: and at the end, the judge will either grant it 597 00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:55,080 Speaker 2: or he'll order him deported. 598 00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:06,000 Speaker 1: Coming up on Latino USA. Elvis argues his case and 599 00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:59,319 Speaker 1: his fate is decided. Stay with us, notes, hey, we're back, 600 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:02,680 Speaker 1: and before the break, a judge told Elvis that he 601 00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:06,439 Speaker 1: couldn't have more time to prepare his asylum case, which 602 00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:10,440 Speaker 1: means Elvis will have to present his case without a lawyer, 603 00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:14,360 Speaker 1: let you know. USA producer Alisa Scarce picks up the story. 604 00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:17,040 Speaker 2: Now, the fact that Elvis wasn't going to have a 605 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,120 Speaker 2: lawyer for this part of the hearing was really not ideal. 606 00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:22,839 Speaker 2: Asylum seekers who go to court with lawyers are way 607 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:25,880 Speaker 2: more likely to win than those who don't. But Elvis 608 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:28,279 Speaker 2: wasn't at a total loss in a way. He'd been 609 00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:30,520 Speaker 2: preparing for this hearing for months. 610 00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:34,480 Speaker 6: Experience La de Mascasoso Mirake. 611 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:39,359 Speaker 2: He'd talked to the other people in the detention center 612 00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:41,840 Speaker 2: to see what worked in their cases and what didn't. 613 00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:45,440 Speaker 2: He'd study US government reports about human rights in Guatemala. 614 00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:51,080 Speaker 2: He'd ask Wendy to look up statistics on extortion. Yes, Melo, 615 00:38:51,920 --> 00:38:53,840 Speaker 2: He'd tell her what to look up, and then Wendy 616 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:55,920 Speaker 2: would do some online research and she'd print out the 617 00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,360 Speaker 2: numbers and send them to Elvis in the mail. So 618 00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:01,400 Speaker 2: in this moment, as he stands alone to defend himself 619 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:04,719 Speaker 2: at his asylum hearing, he's feeling pretty good about his 620 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:06,839 Speaker 2: arguments and the evidence that he's going to present. 621 00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:10,360 Speaker 8: Tell me what happened to you, Bemu. 622 00:39:12,880 --> 00:39:17,799 Speaker 10: Near de Sinco that I knew in Minnesota and twenty 623 00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:19,040 Speaker 10: three of twenty eighteen. 624 00:39:19,080 --> 00:39:23,479 Speaker 2: In the morning, Elvis tells his story. He talks about 625 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:26,919 Speaker 2: his internet cafe and Wendy's mother's laundry business. He talks 626 00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:28,480 Speaker 2: about the house they all shared. 627 00:39:31,440 --> 00:39:34,560 Speaker 7: Delemona, Venezuela. That day we're reaching the bombard in the 628 00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:36,720 Speaker 7: morning in my mother in law's phone. 629 00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:39,759 Speaker 2: He talks about the extortion and how they reported it 630 00:39:39,840 --> 00:39:42,720 Speaker 2: to law enforcement. He talks about how law enforcement didn't 631 00:39:42,719 --> 00:39:43,839 Speaker 2: do anything to protect them. 632 00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:48,920 Speaker 10: Sue las Casa. 633 00:39:56,920 --> 00:39:59,760 Speaker 7: The Human WIS Report of twenty eighteen from Guatemala. 634 00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:04,160 Speaker 10: It's said that jails in Amana I like at your 635 00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:05,479 Speaker 10: university for grim and all. 636 00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:08,080 Speaker 2: Speaking, and Elvis says he could see the judge scratching 637 00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:10,759 Speaker 2: his head over the screen. It seemed to him like 638 00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:12,480 Speaker 2: the judge was considering the claim. 639 00:40:16,120 --> 00:40:16,920 Speaker 8: Oh I sir, thank you. 640 00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:20,600 Speaker 2: As Elvis makes his closing statement, you can hear Emily 641 00:40:20,719 --> 00:40:26,680 Speaker 2: fussing in the background, your voice, this. 642 00:40:26,840 --> 00:40:40,000 Speaker 10: Is my gay's judge, your hand and my family all. 643 00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:40,000 Speaker 7: Well, I served, thank you. 644 00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:42,840 Speaker 8: I can go here of courts and recess. 645 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:48,520 Speaker 11: So then the judge takes a recess for about thirty minutes. 646 00:40:48,560 --> 00:40:50,040 Speaker 11: He says he's going to take your recess and then 647 00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:51,240 Speaker 11: come back on issue a decision. 648 00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:54,960 Speaker 2: Elvis goes out into the hallway with the interpreter and 649 00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:59,640 Speaker 2: the interpreter tells him, you're doing a good job. It 650 00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:03,040 Speaker 2: was Elvis says, that made him feel a little more 651 00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:05,560 Speaker 2: calm for the first time in a while. He felt 652 00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:08,719 Speaker 2: a little bit optimistic, like maybe something would come out 653 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:12,600 Speaker 2: of this if we So they go back into the courtroom. 654 00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:15,480 Speaker 2: Wendy is sitting in the back and she is feeling 655 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:27,040 Speaker 2: super hopeful. He said, Lady, she thinks in that moment 656 00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:29,320 Speaker 2: that he's going to get asylum and that they'll finally 657 00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:33,440 Speaker 2: get to be together again. She says, she's filled with joy. 658 00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:38,440 Speaker 8: I have the record, all the parties. President of the 659 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:39,960 Speaker 8: corlest res again present. 660 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:47,360 Speaker 2: The judge denies Elvis's claim once again. He just says, no, 661 00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:48,719 Speaker 2: I want to make sure you. 662 00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:53,720 Speaker 8: Understand the reasons why they came. Always send that bokay. 663 00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:56,400 Speaker 12: I thought he'd testified posibly, and I believe everything he 664 00:41:56,480 --> 00:42:02,239 Speaker 12: told me, and you said, and then the but there's 665 00:42:02,239 --> 00:42:09,879 Speaker 12: certain people criteria for asilom that the court has to follow. Dang, yes, 666 00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:13,520 Speaker 12: and then I understand and I found that you didn't 667 00:42:13,560 --> 00:42:13,840 Speaker 12: need it. 668 00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:15,640 Speaker 8: So I have to deny your claim sir. 669 00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:21,480 Speaker 2: Also, once again Judge Hoover doesn't explain the specifics. Then 670 00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:24,320 Speaker 2: the judge asks Elvis if he wants to appeal, and 671 00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:28,360 Speaker 2: to everyone's surprise, Elvis says, no, very well. 672 00:42:28,239 --> 00:42:31,120 Speaker 7: You'd like to set the court's order's final and wave 673 00:42:31,120 --> 00:42:34,640 Speaker 7: you're right to appeal. And I said they were not 674 00:42:34,719 --> 00:42:40,960 Speaker 7: only not yes, and you're not wish to be a 675 00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:42,920 Speaker 7: right for it, it would be be useless. 676 00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:46,600 Speaker 2: Elvis figures the judge knows the law and he said 677 00:42:46,640 --> 00:42:51,000 Speaker 2: he didn't qualify, so why would a different judge decide differently. Plus, 678 00:42:51,160 --> 00:42:53,560 Speaker 2: what he'd heard about the appeal process inside the detention 679 00:42:53,719 --> 00:42:55,560 Speaker 2: center was not very encouraging. 680 00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:57,439 Speaker 6: You can think. 681 00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:09,200 Speaker 2: People he'd seen people wait four months or sometimes even 682 00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:11,640 Speaker 2: six months for an appeal to go through, and he 683 00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:14,680 Speaker 2: says he couldn't stand to be detained for another six months. 684 00:43:15,480 --> 00:43:17,480 Speaker 8: So I have ordered you removed from the United States. 685 00:43:17,840 --> 00:43:21,160 Speaker 2: Elvis is ordered deported luck to. 686 00:43:22,719 --> 00:43:24,200 Speaker 8: Course a journal and. 687 00:43:24,280 --> 00:43:28,440 Speaker 11: The judge like concluded, went off the record, got up 688 00:43:28,480 --> 00:43:32,480 Speaker 11: and just left the courtroom. And the government attorney also 689 00:43:32,960 --> 00:43:34,919 Speaker 11: kind of like put her head down when my eye 690 00:43:35,040 --> 00:43:37,160 Speaker 11: contact and also just left the courtroom. 691 00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:39,000 Speaker 6: So and by that time. 692 00:43:39,040 --> 00:43:43,120 Speaker 11: I also say his wife was like openly sobbing his arrest. 693 00:43:43,239 --> 00:43:45,920 Speaker 11: He had other family members there as well. We were 694 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:47,960 Speaker 11: all kind of shocked. 695 00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:50,440 Speaker 2: Jody has been sitting in the back of the courtroom 696 00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:53,160 Speaker 2: this whole time, watching this all go down, and she'd 697 00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:55,080 Speaker 2: been assuming that Elvis would appeal. 698 00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:56,040 Speaker 6: Asylum. 699 00:43:56,160 --> 00:43:58,920 Speaker 11: Is tough, but I feel like he overcame some of 700 00:43:59,040 --> 00:44:02,200 Speaker 11: a hurdles that we usually see in some of the 701 00:44:02,719 --> 00:44:05,480 Speaker 11: obstacles that have been purposely I think put in the 702 00:44:05,520 --> 00:44:08,120 Speaker 11: way of people being able to win their asylum claims. 703 00:44:08,760 --> 00:44:13,000 Speaker 2: So if you had gotten an appeal, hypothetically like, it 704 00:44:13,080 --> 00:44:14,960 Speaker 2: wasn't a guarantee that he was going to get asylum, 705 00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:16,600 Speaker 2: but it sounds like you think maybe he had a shot. 706 00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:17,359 Speaker 5: Yeah. 707 00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:22,080 Speaker 11: I think with correct legal advocacy, he would have had 708 00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:25,200 Speaker 11: a decent case for winning. 709 00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:34,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, though it really wasn't a guarantee. When Jeff Sessions 710 00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:36,719 Speaker 2: was the Attorney General, he issued a legal decision that 711 00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:40,480 Speaker 2: makes it harder for Central Americans in particular to get asylum. 712 00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:44,120 Speaker 2: Between October of twenty nineteen and March of twenty twenty, 713 00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:47,920 Speaker 2: more than eighty six percent of Guatemalan's asylum applications were 714 00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:50,880 Speaker 2: denied that's a significant increase since the end of the 715 00:44:50,960 --> 00:44:58,279 Speaker 2: Obama administration. A month after his final hearing, Elvis is 716 00:44:58,360 --> 00:45:00,680 Speaker 2: still in detention, waiting to be deported. 717 00:45:02,480 --> 00:45:05,279 Speaker 8: It may be monitored or recorded, and. 718 00:45:05,320 --> 00:45:07,279 Speaker 2: He's still calling Wendy every day. 719 00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:11,239 Speaker 4: Yeah, no more. 720 00:45:11,719 --> 00:45:14,640 Speaker 2: They talk about the baby. 721 00:45:16,880 --> 00:45:17,600 Speaker 7: I couldn't want. 722 00:45:19,680 --> 00:45:20,000 Speaker 4: You, didn't. 723 00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:27,000 Speaker 2: They talk about how Elvis is feeling. He says he 724 00:45:27,080 --> 00:45:31,680 Speaker 2: had a fever last night and couldn't sleep. He's frustrated 725 00:45:31,719 --> 00:45:35,080 Speaker 2: that even now, after being denied asylum and refusing the appeal, 726 00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:38,120 Speaker 2: he's still in detention and he doesn't know how long 727 00:45:38,160 --> 00:45:49,040 Speaker 2: he has left. Yeah, the implement, He says. If this 728 00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:51,520 Speaker 2: country can't help me, I don't want to be here anymore. 729 00:45:52,120 --> 00:46:00,840 Speaker 2: He's really sick of being locked up. Elvis says the 730 00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:04,279 Speaker 2: US government wants to build a physical wall, but these 731 00:46:04,400 --> 00:46:10,640 Speaker 2: laws are also a kind of wall, and he says 732 00:46:10,719 --> 00:46:22,760 Speaker 2: what he's gone through isn't worth it. Elvis was deported 733 00:46:22,840 --> 00:46:26,440 Speaker 2: in early January. He'd been into attention for eleven months, 734 00:46:26,560 --> 00:46:28,800 Speaker 2: and the family says they'd spent more than one thousand 735 00:46:28,880 --> 00:46:36,759 Speaker 2: dollars on phone calls. A few weeks after that, this 736 00:46:36,920 --> 00:46:40,120 Speaker 2: is mid February. I fly to Guatemala to meet Elvis 737 00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:47,080 Speaker 2: in person. I visit him at a little house that's 738 00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:49,480 Speaker 2: on the end of a residential street on the outskirts 739 00:46:49,520 --> 00:46:52,640 Speaker 2: of Guatemala City. It's a neighborhood he thinks is safer 740 00:46:52,719 --> 00:46:55,400 Speaker 2: than his hometown, and he's staying here with the family 741 00:46:55,480 --> 00:47:01,160 Speaker 2: of an old friend. His room is bright with crayon 742 00:47:01,239 --> 00:47:04,600 Speaker 2: yellow walls. There's a bed and a plastic chair, and 743 00:47:04,719 --> 00:47:12,440 Speaker 2: some stuff laid out on a trash bag on the floors. 744 00:47:09,840 --> 00:47:09,920 Speaker 11: And. 745 00:47:11,880 --> 00:47:15,920 Speaker 2: I need to There are stacks of baseball caps and 746 00:47:16,040 --> 00:47:19,320 Speaker 2: some watches. He bought them from wholesalers downtown and he 747 00:47:19,480 --> 00:47:22,520 Speaker 2: resells them over Facebook. This is how he's trying to 748 00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:30,080 Speaker 2: make a living these days. I say to Elvis, so 749 00:47:30,400 --> 00:47:33,600 Speaker 2: you're really an Internet guy, now, huh? And I'm sort 750 00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:37,080 Speaker 2: of joking around, but then I realize it's serious. He says, 751 00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:39,440 Speaker 2: it's a little safer this way since he doesn't have 752 00:47:39,520 --> 00:47:42,759 Speaker 2: to go out. He wouldn't feel comfortable opening a storefront again. 753 00:47:44,320 --> 00:47:53,319 Speaker 2: This is Elvis's new reality, he says. He barely leaves 754 00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:59,399 Speaker 2: the house, and if he does, it's always with somebody else, 755 00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:02,160 Speaker 2: somebody who can give him a ride or pick him up. 756 00:48:02,760 --> 00:48:06,400 Speaker 2: He doesn't go out alone. The threat of extortion is 757 00:48:06,520 --> 00:48:10,960 Speaker 2: like this low hum under everything he does. On top 758 00:48:11,000 --> 00:48:13,040 Speaker 2: of that, there's this feeling he brought back with him 759 00:48:13,040 --> 00:48:17,000 Speaker 2: from the US that he just can't shake, like a disorientedness. 760 00:48:17,239 --> 00:48:19,439 Speaker 6: See he fears there was yes THEO. He's a gonna 761 00:48:19,440 --> 00:48:20,839 Speaker 6: be aka, he says. 762 00:48:20,880 --> 00:48:26,040 Speaker 2: He forgets what day it is. When he's out in 763 00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:28,440 Speaker 2: the city, he gets lost, and he forgets places he 764 00:48:28,560 --> 00:48:32,840 Speaker 2: used to know. Sometimes people tell him things and he 765 00:48:33,200 --> 00:48:41,560 Speaker 2: just forgets. But the most painful thing is to still 766 00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:44,279 Speaker 2: be separated from his family, who he only gets to 767 00:48:44,320 --> 00:48:45,720 Speaker 2: see over WhatsApp. 768 00:48:50,840 --> 00:48:54,439 Speaker 6: I know, I'm not going to say. 769 00:48:56,040 --> 00:48:58,680 Speaker 2: Wendy looks tired. She was up late with the baby. 770 00:48:59,080 --> 00:49:07,360 Speaker 2: Now she's breastfeet. Wendy points the camera down towards Emily. 771 00:49:10,440 --> 00:49:13,080 Speaker 2: The baby opens her eyes wide and stares straight into 772 00:49:13,120 --> 00:49:23,640 Speaker 2: the camera. As they chat, the baby starts to fall asleep. 773 00:49:26,680 --> 00:49:31,440 Speaker 2: They say goodbye. Elvis says he'll call back later. Yes, 774 00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:44,960 Speaker 2: Elvis doesn't know when he'll get to see Wendy and 775 00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:48,520 Speaker 2: Emily again. Wendy is still waiting for her own asylum. 776 00:49:48,600 --> 00:49:51,160 Speaker 2: Hearing he doesn't think it's safe for them to come 777 00:49:51,200 --> 00:49:54,160 Speaker 2: back to Guatemala. And as much as he wants to 778 00:49:54,239 --> 00:49:57,200 Speaker 2: be with them, he just can't imagine trying to go 779 00:49:57,320 --> 00:50:07,080 Speaker 2: back to the United States. The process was so maddening 780 00:50:07,440 --> 00:50:11,240 Speaker 2: and so painful that he says he'd rather be killed 781 00:50:11,880 --> 00:50:14,319 Speaker 2: than get caught at the border trying to get back 782 00:50:14,360 --> 00:50:15,000 Speaker 2: to his family. 783 00:50:16,719 --> 00:50:56,719 Speaker 1: Yeah. This episode was produced by Alisas Garce, Max Sigbaum, 784 00:50:56,920 --> 00:51:00,759 Speaker 1: and Mazin Sidahma, with help from Julia Roch. It was 785 00:51:00,840 --> 00:51:04,239 Speaker 1: reported in partnership with the Wayne Barrett Project at Type 786 00:51:04,320 --> 00:51:08,600 Speaker 1: Investigations and was edited by Sophia parisa Ka. The Latino 787 00:51:08,719 --> 00:51:13,920 Speaker 1: USA team includes Niel Massiez, Luis Trees, Antonio Serejidro Cini Montalgo, 788 00:51:14,080 --> 00:51:17,800 Speaker 1: genes Aamoca, and Alejandra Sallesa, with help from Raoul Perez. 789 00:51:18,239 --> 00:51:22,680 Speaker 1: Fact checking by Nina's wife. Special thanks to Type Investigations 790 00:51:22,760 --> 00:51:27,840 Speaker 1: Executive editor Sarah Bluestain and reporters Irene Ted, Phoebe Taylor Vola, 791 00:51:28,120 --> 00:51:33,600 Speaker 1: Irene Spezzamonte, Ralph Ortega, Hannah Beckler, and Grace Moon. Our 792 00:51:33,680 --> 00:51:37,840 Speaker 1: engineers are Stephanie Lebau and Julie Russo. Additional engineering this 793 00:51:37,920 --> 00:51:41,080 Speaker 1: week by Leah Shaw. Our director of Programming and Operations 794 00:51:41,200 --> 00:51:45,399 Speaker 1: is Natalia Fiederhotz. Our digital editor is Amandel Cantra. Our 795 00:51:45,480 --> 00:51:48,560 Speaker 1: theme music was composed by Zeene Robinos. If you like 796 00:51:48,640 --> 00:51:51,839 Speaker 1: the music you heard on this episode, stop by Latinousa 797 00:51:51,920 --> 00:51:55,319 Speaker 1: dot org and check out our weekly Spotify playlist. I'm 798 00:51:55,360 --> 00:51:58,600 Speaker 1: your host and executive producer Maria Rosa. Join us again 799 00:51:58,680 --> 00:52:01,279 Speaker 1: next time, and in the meantime, you can find us 800 00:52:01,400 --> 00:52:04,480 Speaker 1: on all of your social media aste Lapproxima. 801 00:52:04,120 --> 00:52:10,880 Speaker 13: Chow Latino USA is made possible in part by New 802 00:52:11,000 --> 00:52:15,439 Speaker 13: York Women's Foundation. The New York Women's Foundation, funding women 803 00:52:15,560 --> 00:52:19,560 Speaker 13: leaders that build solutions in their communities and celebrating thirty 804 00:52:19,680 --> 00:52:25,319 Speaker 13: years of radical generosity, The Ford Foundation, working with visionaries 805 00:52:25,560 --> 00:52:29,680 Speaker 13: on the front lines of social change worldwide, and the 806 00:52:29,800 --> 00:52:32,200 Speaker 13: John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.