Title
Urging the United States House of Representatives to pass H.R. 5623, providing for the relief of Carmela Apolonio Hernandez, and her four children, Fidel Artillero Apolonio, Keyri Artillero Apolonio, Yoselin Artillero Apolonio, and Edwin Artillero Apolonio due to extraordinary circumstances of persecution; and calling on the United States Department of Homeland Security to exercise prosecutorial discretion to stay the family's removal and join a motion to reopen the Hernandez family's case for asylum.
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WHEREAS, In 1951, the United States formally signed onto the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which established a principle of international law known as non-refoulement, forbidding the removal of asylum seekers to countries where they are likely to be tortured or killed, and ensuring safe harbor for anyone with a credible fear of persecution who could be expelled to a "territory where he or she fears threats to life or freedom"; and
WHEREAS, The United States Congress reaffirmed the principle of non-refoulement in the Refugee Act of 1980, established protocols for vetting and resettling refugees, and assured asylum seekers that they would not be treated as criminals, even if they arrived unauthorized in the U.S.; and
WHEREAS, Carmela Apolonio Hernandez and her four children, Fidel Artillero Apolonio (15), Keyri Artillero Apolonio (14), Yoselin Artillero Apolonio (11), and Edwin Artillero Apolonio (9), have been U.S. residents for nearly three years; and
WHEREAS, Carmela Apolonio Hernandez remains in abject fear for the safety and security of herself and her family. The Hernandez family fled the brutal violence resulting from organized crime in Mexico, resulting in gang members murdering Ms. Hernandez's brother and two nephews, then assaulting her and her daughter; and
WHEREAS, In August 2015, Carmela Apolonio Hernandez fled Mexico for the U.S. in search of protection for herself and her children. After the family was...
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