A nonprofit social justice group has started a public campaign to call for the release of a 7-year-old Oregon girl detained by immigration authorities with her family in a Portland hospital’s parking lot on their way to seek medical care.
Los Angeles-based Each Step Home started the campaign to raise national awareness of Diana Crespo-Gonzalez’s story and that of other children detained in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding centers.
The nonprofit was established in 2019 to push the federal government to stop detention of children and their families and shut down family detention centers, said Casey Revkin, its executive director.
While the detention of 5-year-old-old Liam Conejo Ramos of Minnesota in a blue bunny hat sparked outrage and grabbed national attention, the stories of other children facing similar situations have not, Revkin said.
That prompted Each Step Home to begin the campaign and start with Diana Crespo-Gonzalez’s detention, said Revkin, who has Oregon connections, including attending Reed College in Portland.
“Children are not criminals,” she said.
Liam and his father Adrian Conejo Arias were released last weekend after public outcry and federal court intervention.
In Oregon, immigration agents arrested the 7-year-old Gresham girl and her parents, Yohendry De Jesus Crespo and Darianny Liseth Gonzalez de Crespo, on Jan. 16 outside the Adventist Health emergency department on their way to seek medical care for their daughter’s prolonged nosebleed.
They are being held at Dilley Immigration Processing Center near San Antonio, Texas. That’s the same facility where Liam and his father were detained before being released.
U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., traveled to Texas to try to secure the family’s release but so far has been unsuccessful.
A family friend has said the Gresham family came to the U.S. legally and is seeking asylum.
As part of the Each Step Home campaign, the organization is spreading the family’s story on social media and is providing the public with a U.S. Homeland Security number they can call to advocate for their release.
As of late Thursday, a post on Instagram had been liked by more than 28,000 people, she said.
Revkin said other organizations, such as Latinx Parenting, have partnered in the campaign, and they will continue to spread information about Diana Crespo-Gonzalez and urge people to take action.
“We plan to continue to push her story until she’s out,” she said.
