A family of Russian refugees who fled their home country after protesting against the invasion of Ukraine told The Guardian that they are planning to leave the United States after the father was arrested and placed in detention despite their having “never broken any rules.”
Sergei and Marina, whose names were withheld from publication to avoid reprisals from the U.S. or Russian governments, told the newspaper that they legally entered the United States via the Mexico border three years ago, while she was pregnant with their two-year-old daughter. They told immigration officials at the time that Marina had been arrested in Russia for protesting against the invasion of Ukraine and feared that she could be arrested and imprisoned if they returned, or that Sergei could be drafted to fight in the war.
The couple told the Guardian that they have remained in the U.S. while waiting to argue their case before an immigration judge, living in the San Francisco area. Last month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement summoned Sergei to an ICE office in San Francisco where he was arrested, allegedly for missing a previous summons, and placed in a detention center about 250 miles from his family and told he would have to reapply for asylum.
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