They Went to the Park & Ended Up in a Cell

Now They’re Out—but We Need Answers

Photo by Shabaz Usmani on Unsplash

Four US citizen kids were locked in a detention facility in Washington State for over two weeks.

Not because they did anything wrong.
Not because their mom committed a crime.
But because they visited Peace Arch Park—a place where families gather at the US-Canada border to see loved ones. Their mom, Kenia Jackeline Merlos, didn’t even cross into Canada.

She’s a mom from Portland, an immigrant from Honduras with pending paperwork. She was doing what moms do: trying to keep her family connected.

Border Patrol arrested her anyway, accusing her of “smuggling illegal aliens”—a term they throw around like confetti at a cop convention. Sometimes just being near someone without full status is enough to trigger it. They detain first, justify later.

And that’s how her four US citizen children ended up in detention.

Rep Dr. Maxine Dexter only found out because someone texted her. A friend of a friend of a friend. She tracked them down, showed up in person, & started raising hell—like we elected her to do.

The family was shuffled through a maze of CBP custody sites: Bellingham, Ferndale, Tukwila, Seattle. No stable location. No access to legal counsel. No consistent answers. At one point, even Rep Dexter was misled about their whereabouts.

Let’s be clear:
There was no final deportation order.
There was no crime.
There wasn’t even proof that the “voluntary return” Merlos supposedly agreed to was understood—let alone truly voluntary.

This case is an egregious example of what happens when we let immigration enforcement operate in the shadows. And it nearly got worse.

Because instead of releasing the children to family, CBP was preparing to send them, somewhere, via SeaTac International Airport with newly issued passports—without public explanation. These were elementary school kids. Citizens. They were nearly put on a plane & shipped who-knows-where.

Let that sink in.

Thankfully, a federal judge intervened. On Monday, US District Court Judge Tana Lin issued an emergency order halting the deportation, barring CBP from moving the family out of jurisdiction, & ensuring they could access legal counsel. It shouldn’t take a miracle-level legal intervention to stop the forced relocation of citizen children.

And still—why the hell were US citizen kids given passports inside a detention facility?
Why were they taken to the airport?
Where were they going?
Who signed off on that?

This isn’t just about this one family anymore. It’s about what the system is doing when nobody’s looking.

The mom had asked for her kids to stay with her—because what other choice did she have?

• The father was detained days later in Portland

• The grandmother, who had a valid visa, was detained too

• Everyone else who could help was locked up or deported

She made the safest, most human choice she could: keeping her children close in a deeply inhumane situation.

These kids should’ve been at summer camp, not on concrete floors with a thin mat.
They should’ve been sleeping in their own beds, not waking up to locked doors & fluorescent lights.

And even now that they’ve been released to a family friend, those days in detention don’t just go away. The trauma lingers.

These are the ripple effects for the family no one budgets for:

• What happens to their school enrollment?

• Who’s paying the rent?

• Are their pets okay?

• Will they ever feel safe again?

This is the human cost of a system built to punish—not protect.

CBP says the mother was offered chances to call people, just apparently not her legal counsel. But a phone isn’t the same as due process, & legal rights mean nothing if you’re moved like cargo before anyone can find you.

This story made the news only because a Congresswoman wouldn’t let it go.
How many other families have vanished without that lifeline?

As Rep Dexter said: this isn’t about public safety.
It’s about fear.
It’s about sending a message:
Don’t gather. Don’t move. Don’t speak up.

They’re not just targeting “illegal immigration.”
They’re targeting legal presence.
They’re abducting families.
And they’re turning citizenship into something conditional—based on skin tone, surname, & zip code.

We need more people willing to speak up, show up, & throw sunlight on these shadows.

Because this time, the kids got out.
But next time?
They might disappear.

📢 Share the story. Demand oversight. Ask your reps what the hell is going on at SeaTac.

Because nobody should be punished for going to a park.
Or for being brown.
Or for loving their family out loud.

~AK