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A Canadian woman and her seven-year-old daughter, who were held for nearly three weeks in a notorious detention center by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), were released on Thursday evening after posting a bond of $9,500.
Tania Warner and her daughter Ayla Luca, originally from British Columbia, are both Canadian citizens. Warner moved to the US in 2021 when she married Edward Warner, a US citizen. “Very happy to have my family home … it’s been a whirlwind day,” said Edward Warner.
After her release, Tania Warner told CBC News a judge decided that she and Ayla were not a flight risk, though she has been fitted with an ankle monitor. She said her immigration lawyer was able to argue that her documents had been filed correctly and that she is legally allowed to extend her time in the US.
The pair will now face a series of hearings to see if they can stay in the US, or if they will be deported. She and her family have maintained that all her immigration paperwork is up-to-date and that they were detained arbitrarily.
Warner and her daughter were initially taken into ICE custody on 14 March. The family lives in Kingsville, Texas, and were driving home from a baby shower in Raymondville when they were stopped at a checkpoint in Sarita. The pair were apprehended by ICE agents to be fingerprinted but then never returned.
After they were incarcerated, Edward Warner told the Vancouver Sun that ICE officials said “she overstayed her visa”, though he provided the paper with a copy of a US “employment authorization” card issued to his wife last year, and it had an expiry date of 8 June 2030.
Though originally held at Rio Grande Valley central processing center in McAllen, Texas, Warner and her daughter, who has autism, were moved to the Dilley immigration processing center in south Texas on 20 March.
While in Dilley, Warner told the Guardian that the treatment of her and her daughter has been “horrific” from the start. At Rio Grande, no beds were provided and detainees slept on mats with the lights on 24 hours a day, she said.
At Dilley, there was some comfort in having a mattress to sleep on. But she said there was no privacy and ICE agents were constantly pressuring her to “self-deport”. “They’re abusive, and their tactics are to threaten you and to be so inhospitable that you deport yourself,” Warner said.
She said she did not want to have to leave the US. “My life is here with my husband. I love him. I don’t want to leave. But at the same time, I’ve gotten a really ugly taste in my mouth for the United States,” she said.
When asked about their case the week they were detained, Global Affairs Canada, the federal ministry that handles consular services and diplomatic relations, said it was “aware of multiple cases of Canadians currently or previously in immigration-related detention in the US”.
“Consular officials advocate for Canadian citizens abroad and raise concerns about justified and serious complaints of ill-treatment or discrimination with the local authorities but cannot exempt Canadians from local legal processes,” a spokesperson said. “Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed.”
Approached for comment on 20 March, ICE asked for more information about the Warners’ case. The Guardian provided that information, but nearly two weeks later, ICE has not replied.
Global Affairs and ICE have been contacted again for comment regarding the pair’s release.
