In 2018, 16-year-old Meydi Guzman-Rivas and her father fled Honduras, seeking safety in the United States after violent gang members made death threats against their family, according to the girl’s attorneys.
They eventually settled in northwest suburban Crystal Lake. Guzman-Rivas attended Crystal Lake Central High School and was on track to graduate in 2020 until a missed immigration hearing landed her in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, her attorneys said.
Today as the now-18-year-old is being held in a detention facility in downstate Illinois and fears being returned to Honduras and to those who want to harm her, the Crystal Lake community and a law firm based in the town are fighting for the girl’s asylum.
The story begins on June 18, 2018, when Guzman-Rivas and her father, Fabio Guzman-Reyes, entered the U.S. at Laredo, Texas, where they were taken into custody by the Border Patrol. Guzman-Reyes was charged criminally for entering the country illegally, according to a criminal complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
According to the complaint, dated June 20, 2018, Guzman-Reyes “entered or attempted to enter illegally into the United States by wading the Rio Grande River near Laredo, Texas, thus avoiding immigration inspection … .”
Guzman-Reyes pleaded guilty and paid a $10 fine, according to district court documents. His daughter also was taken into custody at the border and likely charged with the same crime, her attorneys said. However, the details surrounding her case are unclear. The attorneys said they do not have full access to her file as of yet.
The father and daughter were released on a recognizance bond and agreed to attend their immigration court hearings, said Kevin Bruning, one of her lawyers.
After moving to Crystal Lake, Guzman-Rivas enrolled in high school and was “doing very well,” said Bruning, who is representing her pro bono, along with Nathan Reyes.
While in school “she developed solid relationships with her counselor and teachers,” who in turn have been reaching out to help her since she was detained, Bruning said.
But Guzman-Rivas and her father apparently missed a court date in February, and an order of removal was filed for their deportation. They went to court a few days later and learned the hearing was rescheduled for October. When they attended that hearing they were separated and taken into ICE custody, said her lawyers.
Initially, the girl was housed in ICE custody at the McHenry County jail and her father was taken to a facility in Wisconsin. Today, Guzman-Rivas is being detained at an ICE facility in Pulaski County at the southern end of Illinois. Her father is in ICE hold in Kankakee.
A spokeswoman for ICE said the agency does not publicly discuss individuals’ asylum issues.
Guzman-Rivas’ saga is playing out as the Trump administration has enacted a policy to deny direct asylum to nearly all immigrants arriving at the southern border who aren’t from Mexico, a rule that’s expected to greatly impact Hondurans seeking to enter the U.S. The administration in the past has cited the strain placed on federal resources along the border by the number of people trying to enter the country. It also has said its immigration policy includes ensuring the swift removal of unlawful entrants.
Bruning and Reyes said they had discussions with Guzman-Rivas’ school counselor, Sara Huser, about how best to help her should she be released from custody. There have been offers made by Huser and others to have her stay with them should she be released.
Huser, a bilingual counselor who often helps immigrant students and their families and who set up a GoFundMe page for Guzman-Rivas, said what is happening “is wrong.”
“She came to this country to escape violence in her home country of Honduras,” she said. “We should wrap our arms around these children, not throw them in a jail cell. It’s unspeakable.”
Huser said “Meydi is a wonderful and bright young woman” who has plans to become a nurse. She has grown fond of Guzman-Rivas and last winter provided her with warm clothing to get through the winter.
“She works very hard and is a very focused student,” Huser said, adding she spoke with her on video chat Friday and her spirits were lifted “by hearing about the community rallying behind her.” She said it was the first day the girl said she had not cried since first being taken into ICE custody on Oct. 16.
Guzman-Rivas turned 18 just weeks before she and her father were separated and detained. That meant the government would not have to deal with the separation issues of a parent and a minor child. Bruning said that is not just “coincidental.”
While Guzman-Rivas was still housed in McHenry County, where teachers were giving her schoolwork to do at her request, her lawyers and an interpreter met with her.
She was “very scared, very afraid and crying,” Bruning said.
“She’s an 18-year-old high school girl. She has no idea what’s going on,” Bruning said. “She can understand some English, but communication in difficult.”
Reyes said seeing the fear and sadness on her face and her wearing an orange jail jumpsuit “is just heartbreaking.”
“It’s a harrowing experience, it really is,” Reyes said. “There is a reason why we are doing this. When you see someone in this position that is hurting that badly you want to help her.”
The girl’s mom and siblings are believed to still be in Honduras. It is unclear why they did not come to the U.S., the attorneys said.
Reyes said a motion was filed Nov. 7 with U.S. Immigration Court in Chicago. By filing the motion, an automatic stay of deportation is put into effect while that motion is reviewed, the lawyer said.
No decision had been issued as of Friday.
“If the motion is granted, then regular court hearings would recommence, and if it is not granted, her removal will immediately go into effect,” Reyes said. “She would be removed from the United States based on ICE’s discretion, so probably far sooner than later.”
Her father is being represented by a different lawyer, he said.
Reyes said he thinks they have a good case for seeking asylum.
“What is happening in Honduras is not secret anymore,” Reyes said. “There are a lot of people under extreme threat of harm.”
Reyes last spoke with Guzman-Rivas late last month and said he reminded her the community is still pulling for her.
“It is very easy when isolated to feel forgotten,” Reyes said. “We don’t want her to feel ignored down there. She is maintaining her spirits best she can, but she is extremely nervous and stressed and scared.”
McHenry County Board member Kelli Wegener of Crystal Lake was contacted by the girl’s teachers seeking help. Wegener then asked for prayers at her church where Bruning is a member. That alerted him to the case.
“Personally, as a mother I am concerned for her,” Wegener said. “I have a daughter who is just 18, so I worry that she is far away and by herself.”
Wegener said Guzman-Rivas has been reaching out to her teachers from jail and “she is very upset and scared. She is far away from everybody she knows and probably still trying to deal with the trauma she (endured) in Honduras.”
Wegener said she has been contacted by friends and church members who also have offered to help and house the girl should she be released from ICE custody.
As of Wednesday, the GoFundMe account set up in her name, Mission: Meydi, had raised more than $7,000. The goal is $8,000, and the money will go toward her commissary account, phone calls and any bond or legal fees that may arise, Wegener said.
Kelly Clement, of Crystal Lake, who is Huser’s sister-in-law, said she and Huser came up with the idea to start the GoFundMe as a means to share her story.
“I realized how dire the situation is,” Clement said. “I hope she gets out (of ICE custody) and she stays here. That is the absolute No. 1 goal. The injustice is egregious. We are starting to find out how broken the system is and how slanted … it is against the people that need it the most.”
Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter.
