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'Treated like a prisoner, not a refugee of war' |

Liza Krasulia, 17-years-old, is a refugee from Ukraine, traveling through Mexico to the U.S. border in hopes of asylum.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — There is sympathy for Ukrainian refugees but also protocols; and that's resulted in a teenager without her parents, being held at the U.S. Border Crossing at San Ysidro.    

Liza Krasulia, 17-years-old, is a refugee from Ukraine, traveling through Mexico to the U.S. border in hopes of asylum.  Accompanied by a friend of her mother, Molly Surazhsky.

They made it to the border crossing at San Ysidro, where Surazhsky, who is a United States citizen was permitted entry, but Liza was detained.

“She's terrified! She's a child!” said Surazhsky. “She's alone, separated from her family." 

Surazhsky says Liza called her Wednesday night from custody, very upset.

"Treated like a prisoner, not a refugee of war,” said Surazhsky. “That she's in a cell with no windows, with 25 other refugees," 

Surazhsky's parents are Ukrainian, and she has many friends and relatives back in the war zone. 

She offered to escort her mother's friend's daughter to safety. But their documents weren't enough to get the girl through.

"My heart is breaking because I promised to take care of Natali's daughter,” said Surazhsky.

There are other pictures of their journey that she shared. Surazhsky's working with an attorney but there are no guarantees. And both are dealing with strong emotions.

"She was on the verge of tears, and I was controlling myself on the phone with her, to try to keep her calm and we're fighting right now to re-unite," said Surazhsky.

CBS 8 spoke with Border Angels immigration attorney and Executive Director Dulce Garcia. She couldn't speak to this specific case but gave us insight.

"I imagine they're going through a process of finding out who this person is, who presented at the Port of Entry with the child,” said Garcia. “To see if that person will be the guardian taking care of her here in the U. S. and if it's safe to re-unite them."

She said that usually takes a few days, if not weeks.

Surazhsky, meanwhile, is beside herself with worry.

"I brought Liza to take care of her in a country with no war and she's been taken from me,” said Surazhsky. “It's an absolutely terrible situation."

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