Immigration officials release Portland children detained near border

Troy Brynelson/OPB

July 18, 2025 / 2:27 pm

caption: The U.S. - Canada border at Blaine, Wash. The entry is marked by the Peace Arch, a massive arch at the border that states, "Children of a Common Mother." The Peace Arch park spans both sides of the international border.

After two weeks in custody, four Portland children have been released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, OPB has learned. Their parents are still being held at the ICE center in Tacoma.

Kenia Jackeline “Jackie” Merlos and her U.S.-born children had been detained at Peace Arch State Park, near the U.S.-Canada Border on June 28 while visiting family. Merlos’ husband was detained a few days later.

The couple’s children appeared to be heading for deportation when a family friend, Mimi Lettunich, said she was called to come pick up the kids from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The children had new passports and were presumably preparing for a flight out of the U.S., she said.

“The government — our government — got them passports on Friday,” said Lettunich, who is now taking care of the four children in Portland. “They don’t need passports to come back to Oregon.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Jason Givens told OPB that he couldn’t comment on the events at the airport, saying “privacy regulations typically preclude CBP from disclosing travel information regarding U.S. citizens.”

Merlos’ case is the second documented instance of a family with children being held at a Washington border patrol station, which is not designed for long-term detention.

On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge of Western Washington Tana Lin ordered immigration authorities to hold off on taking any actions against the family until she had more time to look at the case.

The family’s attorneys filed for an emergency ruling Sunday, arguing that Merlos had no access to an attorney since CBP agents took her and her family into custody June 28.

Lin’s order Monday noted that the Merlos family had been “serially re-located and denied contact.” The family’s presence at the Ferndale, Washington, facility wasn’t confirmed until U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Oregon, visited late last week. Dexter was allowed to see the family but not talk with them.

As of Tuesday, attorneys for the federal government had not yet filed their responses in court. Lin’s order demanded a response by the end of the week.

Jill Nedved, an immigration attorney representing the parents and their kids, said she believed the family visited the Washington state park so Merlos could take her mother — who is visiting from Honduras on a visa — to see her sister who lives in Canada.

Givens told OPB last week that Merlos was accused of “attempting to smuggle illegal aliens into the U.S.”

Nedved said Merlos had not been charged with a crime as of Friday.

They remained at a facility in Ferndale, Washington, until just recently. Customs and Border Protection rules say detained people should only be in custody for 72 hours, but the agency has ignored its own guidelines multiple times.

Both Merlos and her husband, Carlos, are now being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, records show.

While the case is still playing out, Dexter and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, celebrated the judge’s order in a statement to the press.

“Our constituents, including four U.S. citizen children, were detained without due process by their own government,” the lawmakers said. “This emergency ruling is a legal lifeline to provide critical protection to the Merlos family.”

This story was originally published by OPB.