British couple & their 3-month-old baby thrown in US jail after 'accidentally swerving' over American border

A British couple claim they have been thrown into jail in the US after swerving across the US border from Canada to avoid hitting an animal.

David and Eileen Connors were on holiday with their three-month-old baby in Vancouver, when they say they veered onto a dirt track - but after continuing down the road they were stopped by US border guards.

The family, who were also with 30-year-old David's cousin Michael Connors, his wife Grace and their two-year-old twin girls, were all chucked in prison amid claims they had illegally crossed an international border.

Eileen, 24, said in a statement that the family will be "traumatised for the rest of our lives", adding her baby has been forced to endure squalid conditions and has developed an eye condition.

At one point, according to the statement reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, her son was left n3ked for several hours in a cold jail after his clothes and blankets were taken for washing.

She said: "When I ask how am I supposed to keep my baby warm in this horrible cold, all they tell me is to put a hat on him.

"They even took away one of his formula containers, which I had to beg for three days for them to return it to me."

Eileen added that the blankets given to her and her son "smelled like a dead dog".

Officials at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that the claims of being kept in inhumane conditions were "unequivocally false", according to the Inquirer.

The family, from London, also said they were not allowed to contact the British embassy.

They were initially held at a facility near the Canadian border - where David was put in a male-only cell and Eileen and the baby in a female one.

The following morning, they were reportedly told they would be released to a US family member, but after insisting they would rather go home, they were later told plans had changed.

Instead, they were taken to a hotel, before the next day being flown to Pennsylvania and transferred to Berks Detention Center in Leesport.

Aldea - a legal services provided - has complained to the US Department of Homeland Security's inspector general, and Mrs Cambria said that although no paperwork has been provided, it is likely the family will be deported back to the UK.

A British Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are providing assistance to a British family following their arrest in the USA and are in close contact with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

Post a Comment

0 Comments