2 days ago
A Providence high school student's asylum case is in limbo after ICE abruptly moves her to Colorado
'It is unusual for someone to be moved to so close to their individual hearing, however, [Customs and Border Protection], ICE, and the facilities will just say that they had to move her for space issues, or because they simply got overcrowded on the calendar, or other reasons that we don't really know about,' Salazar Tohme told the Globe.
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Salazar Tohme thinks ICE may decide to move a detainee because it would make it more difficult to retain legal counsel as 'it would just seem that that's what the administration is doing,' she said.
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'At this point, she doesn't know what's going to happen … She is scared, and she's relying on me,' she said.
Soriano-Neto, a Honduran national, was slated to graduate Mount Pleasant High School this week, according to Salazar Tohme.
'She's told me ... she was only ever interested in going to school and being with her friends, and then all of this happened,' she said.
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Soriano-Neto was arrested in February by Providence police on charges of indecent solicitation of a child and trafficking of a minor, Rhode Island court records show. She was charged after she was blamed, without proof, by at least one of her friends, who were allegedly having sex with men for money, her attorneys have said.
Soriano-Neto unlawfully entered the United States as a child, but had been on a pathway to legal status when she was arrested. She has an approved Special Immigrant Juvenile petition and had been waiting for a visa number, according to Salazar Tohme.
Soriano-Neto was detained by ICE in March and was held in Maine until June 1, when she was moved to Colorado with little notice, Salazar Tohme said. Her asylum hearing had been set for June 4.
Soriano-Neto was transferred days after
John MacDonald, Soriano-Neto's criminal defense attorney, said Thursday the timing is not a coincidence.
'We see it with this administration: The cruelty is the point,' MacDonald said in an interview. 'And this just absolutely smacks of retaliation.'
MacDonald said a warrant will perhaps be issued against Soriano-Neto when she eventually fails to appear in Rhode Island criminal court and 'there's no coming back to the United States lawfully … when there's an active warrant.'
If she was held locally, the case may have gone before a grand jury, and maybe even to trial, according to MacDonald, although he thinks the matter is an 'extremely weak case' based on the evidence he has seen.
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'The issue is probable cause at this point, is such a low standard that no matter how ridiculous the story, it can still easily be charged,' MacDonald said.
'So all of that won't happen now because she is out of the state and, you know, for all practical purposes may be deported because asylum is incredibly tough to win and to prove,' he added.
ICE did not return a request for comment on Friday.
An online ICE detainee portal shows Soriano-Neto is being held at the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, Colo.
According to a Providence police report, officers met with the parents of a girl – whose name was redacted – who said their daughter told them she was sexually assaulted by four men in Providence.
The girl told police that on Jan. 8, Soriano-Neto called her and told her to meet her on Atwells Avenue and that she was going to a party. The two met and drove to a house on Concannon Street, where the girl was met by three men.
Soriano-Neto 'asked her to make sure she gives them food and make sure she gets money from the three male subjects as well,' police wrote. The girl said she was able to get $100 cash from the men, which she gave to Soriano-Neto, according to the report.
Soriano-Neto left the house, and later that day four different men came to the house. Details about what allegedly happened were redacted from the report, which states only that the men 'came into the house and began to [redacted], however they did not have [redacted] with her.'
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In the report, police also wrote, 'It should be noted that [redacted name]'s statement was vague and inconsistent.'
MacDonald has said Soriano-Neto is not a human trafficker.
'These people from high school that were supposedly her friends were apparently hooking up with men and getting cash for it, and when word got out, they pointed the finger – at least one of them did – at Vivian ... without any proof whatsoever other than their word," MacDonald said last week.
Soriano-Neto does not want to voluntarily leave the United States and is willing to 'stay as long as the appeals are going through,' Salazar Tohme said.
The attorney was set to meet with Soriano-Neto's mother last Thursday, she said.
'Her mother and her sister have decided that they want to fly back to Honduras to receive her off the airplane, because they don't know what will happen to her when she gets there and they want to be there before her,' Salazar Tohme said. 'So if they leave, that essentially leaves me as her immigration attorney, the only adult in charge of her in the United States.'
Salazar Tohme is not leaving the case, she said.
'I'm not going anywhere, but if I have to go to Colorado and hold Vivian's hand and tell her I'm going to appeal for her, I certainly will fly to Colorado and do that,' she said.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at
