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Christian Laporte, 19, plays with his brother Vladimir Fardin, 9. The brothers, who were traveling with U.S.-issued visas, were denied entry to the U.S. and separated by immigration officials at SFO after arriving on a flight from Mexico on Sunday.
(Courtesy of the Family)
Immigration authorities at San Francisco International Airport have taken a 9-year-old Haitian boy away from his brother, an East Bay college student, and sent him to a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in Southern California.
The move came in the final hours of the Trump administration, which has been widely condemned for separating thousands of immigrant families over several years.
Haitian Brothers, 19 and 9, Detained and Separated By Immigration Authorities Despite Having Valid Visas
A day after the nation celebrated MLK Day, what was supposed to be an enjoyable trip to the U.S. for two Haitian brothers has turned into a nightmare. Nine-year-old Vladimir Fardin was separated from his older brother Christian Laporte, 19, by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. According to BuzzFeed, Laporte was deported to Mexico Tuesday. Fardin was turned over to ICE to be sent to a government-run shelter, according to an attorney familiar with case.
“Border Patrol and ICE separated the brothers in the middle of the night last night, despite multiple attempts by advocates to stop it. The nine year old year old was sent to a shelter. We don’t know where either is, because they refuse to tell the lawyer or family,” Francisco Ugarte, an immigration attorney in the San Francisco Public Defenders Office, tweeted.
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Brothers from Haiti held at SFO despite having visas; 9-year-old in ICE custody
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Brothers Christian Laporte, 19, and Vladimir Fardin, 9, pictured with their mother, Michaelle Pyroll, in Haiti over the Christmas holiday. The brothers are being detained at San Francisco International Airport.Courtesy Michaelle PyrollShow MoreShow Less
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Vladimir Fardin, 9, of Haiti, pictured with his brother, Christian Laporte, 19.Courtesy Michaelle PyrollShow MoreShow Less
Two brothers from Haiti were detained at San Francisco International Airport Sunday for more than a day, despite having visas to enter the United States, and the youngest, a 9-year-old boy, was sent to a government shelter for unaccompanied children, their attorney said Tuesday.