PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A judge in Washington granted an emergency order on Monday to stop the deportation of a Portland family, including four children who were detained “without cause,” according to an Oregon congresswoman.

The case stems from June 28, when Kenia Jackeline Merlos, her nine-year-old triplets and seven-year-old son were traveling from their home in Portland to Peace Arch State Park at the U.S.-Canada border to see relatives, according to Merlos’ lawyer and family friends.

Because Merlos had pending immigration documents that were not finalized by the government, federal agents took the family into custody at a Customs and Border Patrol facility north of Bellingham, where they were unable to seek legal counsel, according to Congresswoman Maxine Dexter (OR-03) who attempted to visit the family earlier this month.

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On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Tana Lin in Seattle granted an emergency temporary restraining order preventing U.S. Customs and Border Protection from moving the Merlos family from the court’s jurisdiction, while also allowing the family access to legal counsel.

The order comes after Dexter and Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and CBP, giving the agencies a July 14 deadline to grant the family access to an attorney and condemning the detention of U.S. citizen children in facilities “that are not equipped or intended for the long-term custody of anyone.”

“Our constituents, including four U.S. citizen children, were detained without due process by their own government. This case is as urgent as it is egregious. This emergency ruling is a legal lifeline to provide critical protection to the Merlos family,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement Tuesday.

“We are gratified with this temporary win as a necessary step toward justice. In the coming days, we will be watching with unwavering attention to make certain due process is followed and this family is treated with the dignity every Oregon family deserves,” Dexter, Wyden and Merkley continued.

“This fight is every single Oregonian’s fight. If we allow this—citizen children detention, neighbors disappeared, due process ignored—we surrender not just our country but our conscience. That is an outcome we refuse to accept,” the lawmakers concluded.

According to the order, “There is no indication that there is a final removal order for Petitioner (Merlos), nor is there any indication that Petitioner has been convicted of any crime. Although Petitioner has purportedly accepted a voluntary return to her country of origin, Petitioner has expressed doubt that the voluntary return ‘was signed and whether i[t] was in fact voluntary.'”

Dexter previously noted that after learning the family was detained, her team worked to determine their whereabouts — claiming her team found the family in Bellingham after CBP “initially misled” them.

Judge Lin’s order also provided a timeline of the family’s detention.

“On July 5, 2025, Petitioner retained counsel. Petitioner has been unable to communicate with Counsel, however, and Petitioner’s counsel has been unable to obtain concrete or reliable information about Petitioner’s whereabouts,” the order says, noting, that on July 10, Dexter told Merlos’ attorney that she was located at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in
Tukwila, Washington.

“Counsel was then advised that Petitioner was in United States Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) custody in Bellingham, Washington. Counsel was then advised that Petitioner and Petitioner’s children were located at a CBP facility in Ferndale, Washington. But on July 11, 2025, when Counsel visited the CBP facility in Ferndale to speak to Petitioner, Counsel was advised that Petitioner was not there and was instead en route to a facility in Seattle, Washington,” the order states.

While granting the emergency order, Judge Lin noted it is unclear why Merlos was “serially re-located and denied contact with Counsel.”

Earlier this month, Dexter traveled to the Bellingham Border Patrol station where the family was detained, however, the congresswoman said CBP refused to allow her to speak with the family or connect them with counsel.

“It is absurd that she has four citizen children with her, has an attorney, and has no access to legal counsel,” Dexter said, noting the family was detained “without cause.”

“They have provided as humane as a possible situation in a small cell with a cement floor and there’s some mats that are probably four inches thick for the family,” Dexter said.

Merlos’ husband Carlos was also detained days after his family’s detention and held at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Tacoma, according to Dexter.

KOIN 6 News has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol. This story will be updated if we receive a response.

A CBP spokesperson previously told KOIN 6 News, “The individual was arrested by Border Patrol agents in Peace Arch Park attempting to smuggle illegal aliens into the U.S. on June 28. She had her children present during the smuggling attempt and she requested the children remain with her during detention.”