Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528

April 14, 2020
Via electronic mail
Mitra Ebadolahi, Senior Staff Attorney
MEbadolahi@aclusandiego.org
Re:

Complaint No. 20-06-CBP-0508

Dear Ms. Ebadolahi:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
(CRCL) received information from you, forwarded to our office by the DHS Office of Inspector
General (OIG) on March 2, 2020, concerning the care and treatment of pregnant individuals
while in U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody.
Under 6 U.S.C. § 345 and 42 U.S.C. § 2000ee-1, CRCL has the responsibility to review and
assess complaints against DHS employees and officials concerning violations of civil rights, civil
liberties, and profiling on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion. We will conduct an
investigation of the concerns you have raised.
CRCL takes allegations of violations of civil rights and civil liberties very seriously. The
purpose of our review is to assess if your complaint implicates issues that should be addressed by
DHS management. Under 6 U.S.C. § 345 and 42 U.S.C. § 2000ee-1, our complaint process does
not provide individuals with legal or procedural rights or remedies. Accordingly, CRCL is not
able to obtain any legal remedies or damages on behalf of your clients. Instead, we use
complaints like yours to find and address problems in DHS policy and its implementation.
Please note that Federal law forbids retaliation or reprisal by any Federal employee against a
person who makes a complaint or discloses information to this Office. 42 U.S.C. § 2000ee-1(e).
If you believe that you or someone else is a victim of such a reprisal, please contact us
immediately.
As we conduct our review of this complaint, a representative from CRCL may contact you for
additional information. If you have any questions concerning this complaint, you may contact
CRCL by phone at 866-644-8360, 866-644-8361 (TTY), or by email at
CRCLCompliance@hq.dhs.gov. When you communicate with us, please include the complaint
number. In addition, it is very important to notify us of any changes in your address or telephone
number.

 We thank you for your complaint; inquiries like yours help DHS meet its obligation to protect
civil rights and civil liberties. You can expect to receive a letter from us informing you how we
have concluded this matter.
Sincerely,

Dana Salvano-Dunn
Director, Compliance Branch
Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

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