The arrest of a Durango man and his two children, which sparked protests and community outrage, was a case of mistaken identity, The Denver Post reported Friday.
Meanwhile, the family endured a grim 36 hours while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Durango, according to an immigrant services nonprofit that shared “testimony” from all three family members in a news release Friday.
The revelation of mistaken identity came during a Friday court hearing in Denver having to do with a lawsuit challenging ICE’s arrest practices in Colorado.
An ICE officer acknowledged that agents did not realize they were pulling over Fernando Jaramillo-Solano as he drove his two children to school Monday morning in Durango, the Post reported.
Agents proceeded with the arrest anyway, without a warrant – which is not necessarily required, according to the Post.
Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center confirmed that federal agents were seeking someone else when they detained the father.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
While in custody in Durango, the family was allegedly deprived of proper meals, beaten and demeaned, according to Compañeros.
Jaramillo-Solano, 45, and his children – Jana Michel Jaramillo Patiño, 12, and Kewin Daniel Patiño Bustamante, 15 – have since be taken to a federal facility in Texas.
Protests erupted outside ICE’s field office Monday and Tuesday in Durango after the family’s arrest. Tensions escalated around noon Tuesday when federal agents used pepper spray and rubber bullets to clear protesters from the gates of the field office.
According to Compañeros, the family was given only water and potato chips during their detention and kept in a room that Jaramillo-Solano described as a “dungeon.” The room had no windows, and the lights stayed on constantly, preventing the family from resting, he said.
There was only one toilet, which Jaramillo-Solano’s 12-year-old daughter had to use in an open room surrounded by male officers, the release said.
Jaramillo-Solano said ICE officials struck him when he asked questions, according to Compañeros. His son described handcuffs being so tight that his hands became swollen and bruised.
“Every time I asked what would happen to my children, or if they could have something to eat, they hit us,” Jaramillo-Solano said in the release. “They told me I did not matter. They told me my children did not matter.”
Efforts to reach Enrique Orozco-Perez, executive director of Compañeros, for more information about the interviews conducted with family members were unsuccessful Friday night.
Jaramillo-Solano described his stay at the ICE field office as “torture.”
“We did not see sunlight. The three of us were confined in a tiny cell, with no food, and with our hands, waist, and feet shackled,” he said. “We were devastated.”
The family said they received better treatment once they arrived at the detention center in Dilly, Texas, where the three were taken Tuesday.
Jaramillo-Solano and his family expressed appreciation to Durango protesters, according to the release.
“When they finally took us outside and we saw all the people supporting us, we felt strength return,” he said. “That sight filled me with hope and gave me the courage to keep going. From inside the black car, I tried to wave to everyone to say thank you, so many thanks, but I do not think anyone saw us. I am deeply grateful for every person who stood with us. I never could have imagined that kind of support.”
Jana said she could hear protesters singing her favorite song outside the center – something her mother, Estela Patiño, had requested protesters do to raise the girl’s spirits.
“I heard the song you told the crowd to play. I heard the song, Mommy,” Jana was quoted as saying in the release, addressing her mother.
Estela told The Durango Herald on Wednesday that she had not spoken with Jana since the arrest.
“The family wanted to thank the demonstrators for something deeply meaningful: finding a way to play Jana’s favorite song in one of the worst moments of her life,” Compañeros said in the release. “In that moment, she felt joy. She felt her mother’s love. She felt held by her community. Thank you for giving her that light in the darkness.”
ICE officials at the Texas facility reportedly loosened the family’s handcuffs and offered proper food and water to the children.
Compañeros said that should not be interpreted as praise for ICE, but rather as a sign of the “severity and unnecessary nature of the suffering in Durango.”
“The contrast makes clear that cruelty is not automatic,” the release said. “Cruelty is a decision. What happened in Durango was cruelty.”
The family remained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, as of Friday, according to the release.
“They are together, but without their mother,” the release said. “They are not safe. Their conditions are still harsh. Their future remains uncertain. This facility remains a detention center. The children are still living with fear. The trauma they endured in Durango did not end when they left. Their asylum case continues, and their well-being remains at risk every day they are detained.”
According to Compañeros, the Jaramillo Patiño family is in the U.S. under an active asylum case, giving them the legal right to remain while the case proceeds.
The family, who have lived in the U.S. for 18 months, have complied with all requirement of the process, including scheduled check-ins, document submissions and legal representation, the release said.
epond@durangoherald.com
