ORLANDO, Fla. – A pair of 12-year-old twin girls born in Orlando were wrongfully deported earlier this month, according to a court order obtained by News 6.
The order states that the twins’ mother — Marly Zepeda — was ordered to appear at an ICE facility on Monday with her “children and documents” due to ongoing removal proceedings against her. During the appointment, the girls were left with their grandmother in the parking lot.
However, the grandmother was directed by an ICE office to bring the children to the facility’s entrance, where the two girls were taken into custody, believed to be part of the “family unity” policy, the order adds.
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But despite the court issuing an order temporarily restraining federal officials from deporting the family, court records reveal that the girls had already been sent to Guatemala with their mother from Orlando on Tuesday morning.
“There was confusion regarding Zepeda’s election, representing that ICE understood that she wanted to take her children with her,” the order reads.
However, it turned out that Zepeda had filed a form last month indicating she wanted to leave her children with their grandmother, a district judge clarified. As a result, ICE officials have prepared to facilitate the children’s return to the U.S.
On Tuesday, a district judge ordered federal officials to work with the mother to bring the two girls back from Guatemala City into their grandmother’s custody.
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You can read the full order below.