Separation of Ukrainian minor at San Diego border shows policy’s trauma
After her family fled to Poland because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Yelyzaveta Krasulia and her mother made a difficult decision — they would separate so that the mother could care for loved ones who didn’t have passports valid to travel further, and Yelyzaveta would go to the United States with a close family friend.
The family friend, Molly Surazhsky, a 29-year-old U.S. citizen whose parents emigrated from Ukraine, called the experience horrific. Yelyzaveta is far from the first child to be separated from a loved one by officials at the border. If the adult crossing with a child can’t prove legal guardianship, the child is often taken from the adult.
Yelyzaveta and her mother fled to Poland accompanied by Surazhsky’s aunt and Yelyzaveta’s close friend. Neither had passports, and Ukrainian consulates have been unable to issue them, according to Surazhsky. “They told us, ‘Everything will be OK. She’s going to be treated better than us. They get better food than us,’” Surazhsky recalled.
Two days later, Yelyzaveta called with exciting news. She had been told that she would be released from the port of entry. Surazhsky, who had been staying with a friend in Southern California, headed back to San Diego to pick up the girl. She waited five or six hours, and eventually approached a CBP officer who told Surazhsky that Yelyzaveta had been transferred to another facility. Surazhsky was in shock.
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