KINGSVILLE, Tx — Back in March, KRIS 6 News reported on the detention of Tania Warner, a Canadian-born Kingsville resident, and her 7-year-old autistic daughter, Ayla Lucas, after they were stopped at the Sarita checkpoint while returning home from a baby shower in Raymondville.
Now released on bond, Warner spoke with KRIS 6 Neighborhood News reporter Stephanie Molina about her time in immigration detention, describing what she says were difficult conditions and the lasting impact the experience has had on her family.
Warner and Ayla were first taken to a Border Patrol processing center in McAllen known as Ursula, where they spent five days.
“Ursula was easily the most traumatizing experience of my life. It was horrible. It's a prison cell block. It's a sensory deprivation chamber. The whole system is used to break you down. And they insisted that I was going to be deported, and I could do it the easy way or the hard way,” Warner said.
Warner said conditions in the women’s and children’s cellblock caused Ayla to develop a rash. She said they were given antibacterial soap and commercial detergent to wash their clothes, which she believes caused chemical burns on Ayla's skin.
Warner described the other women she met during her time at Ursula.
“They were not criminals by any stretch of the imagination. One was a commercial cook with her grandmother, and the other was a nail technician from Colombia. Good people,” Warner said.
The family was later transferred to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, where they spent 14 days.
“When you're in Dilley, you're inside a bubble. I had no idea what was happening on the outside. I had no idea who was rallying for us. I felt incredibly alone,” Warner said.
Warner and Ayla were able to post bond using money raised through crowdfunding. Warner said she is still required to meet with her deportation officer and wear an ankle monitor.
“The sheer lack of liberty and the loss of my rights has been ... I don't even have a word for it. It has been horrible. Degrading would be a good word for it,” Warner said.
Warner called her experience an injustice.
“They were supposed to go after the worst of the worst. My daughter and I don't have a criminal history in Canada or the United States,” Warner said.
She said support from the community has helped her throughout the ordeal.
“It helped me walk tall and feel stronger in myself that this was an injustice and that this shouldn't be happening to us,” Warner said.
Warner said she hopes to start a nonprofit organization to help detained families post bond, while continuing to navigate her own immigration case.
To help Warner and her family, click here.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.
