FTCA Administrative Complaint Filed Against CBP for Holding Family at Blaine Port of Entry
On July 28, 2026, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Washington and Leovy + Leovy filed an administrative complaint under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) on behalf of a family of asylum seekers, including a five-month pregnant mother, who were held for nearly four weeks in a small cell at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility in Blaine, Washington, near the Canadian border.
Plaintiffs Josefina, Jose, and their four minor children came to the U.S. in 2024 seeking asylum from their home country, where they feared for their lives due to Jose’s membership in an opposition political party. In April 2025, an immigration judge denied their request for additional time to submit proof of their asylum claim, deemed their claim abandoned, and ordered the family deported. In fear that they would be sent back to their country of origin, the family fled to the U.S.-Canada border near Blaine, Washington, intending to seek asylum in Canada. At the time, the children were ages 13, 10, 5, and 11 months, and Josefina was five months pregnant with their fifth child.
Immigration enforcement officers stopped the family before they reached the border and detained them a facility in Blaine for nearly four weeks. The facility was not intended for long-term detention, and the family of six was confined to a small, dirty, windowless, hot cell, and rarely let out. They did not have the ability to shower or change clothes for two weeks. The six family members shared one toilet in the small cell, and used one of the cell’s mattresses as a privacy screen around the toilet. A small sink attached to the back of the toilet was their only source of running water. The mattresses were so thin that when Josefina attempted to sleep, her ribs dug into the ground, causing pain and discomfort.
Josefina’s pregnancy was already deemed high risk due to her diabetes, and the heat in the cell was unbearable for her. CBP neglected to provide her with food that would stabilize her insulin levels. Josefina’s condition caused her to lose consciousness twice, each time resulting in CBP transporting her to a nearby hospital, but returning her to the cramped cell afterward despite doctors’ warnings about her condition.
The administrative complaint alleges that the detention conditions of the family were inhumane, that CBP was on notice that these conditions would be especially harmful to a pregnant person and to children, and that nearly one month of these conditions caused severe emotional, mental, and physical pain for the family. The complaint concludes CBP and DHS are liable for torts of negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress, medical negligence, and failure to meet the minimum standard of care in a carceral setting, as well as liable for battery for handcuffing a 13-year-old child. The family seeks damages.
Counsel: American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Foundation | LEOVY + LEOVY
Contacts: David Montes | American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Foundation | dmontes@aclu-wa.org
La Rond Baker | American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Foundation | baker@aclu-wa.org
Jessica Wolfe | American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Foundation | jwolfe@aclu-wa.org
