Category Archives: Nebraska

S.V. v. United States

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S.V. v. United States, 8:16-cv-00419 (D. Neb, filed Sept. 2, 2016)

In the middle of 2014, a 14-year-old U.S. citizen, whose parents were from Guatemala, was traveling back to the U.S. with her older sister when she was taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.

While she had been born in Florida, her family moved back to Guatemala shortly after her birth.  She lived there for the next 13 years.  However, as a result of increasingly horrific gang violence, her family’s poverty, and difficult circumstances in the home, she decided she needed to return to the country of her birth, the United States.

Upon arriving at the U.S. border and presenting a copy of her Florida birth certificate, she was shocked to be detained and accused of presenting a fake document.  After her arrest, CBP transferred her to what she called the “hielera” or “icebox.” She was held in federal custody for 44 days before finally being released into the custody of a family member living in Nebraska.

However, the Department of Homeland Security continued to insist for almost a year that this U.S. citizen child should be deported back to Guatemala, before the Immigration Court terminated her removal proceedings and concluded she is a U.S. citizen.

As a result of the ordeal, this child has experienced significant emotional distress.  She filed her FTCA administrative complaint on October 14, 2015 against CBP, the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). On March 4, 2016, CBP responded by issuing a final denial of her complaint. On July 6, 2016, DHHS closed the complaint without a decision in light of CBP’s denial. Following these denials, she filed an FTCA lawsuit in the District of Nebraska on September 2, 2016.

On January 26, 2017, the United States filed an answer to the complaint. In June 2017 the parties reached a settlement agreement after the meet and confer process, in which the government agreed to award monetary damages in the amount of $40,000 as satisfaction for any and all injuries to person and property this child suffered.

On June 14, 2017, the court dismissed the action.

Counsel: Justice for Our Neighbors

Contact: Charles Shane Ellison | charles@jfon-ne.org | (402) 898-1349