Desperate To Be Reunited With Their Children, Parents Place Their Hope In A Stranger
Rosa Lina Linder shows a photograph of her 16-year-old daughter on her cellphone, still being detained in the U.S. Photo by Jesse Costa for WBUR
The Trump administration estimates there are more than 500 children between the ages of 5 and 17 who were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, and who remain in the custody of the U.S. government.
In many of these cases, their parents have already been deported back to their home country and are left waiting and, in some cases, depending on help from strangers.
A Boston woman is trying to help some of those families. Here, we talk to two families in Central America affected by the separation policy that she’s trying to help.
‘I Never Expected This To Happen’
The Galvez family is sitting down to breakfast, wearing their Sunday best, looking out at the Caribbean Sea. To get to where they are, in the coastal city of La Ceiba, took a four-hour bus ride and $40. They had to borrow the money from a friend. It’s basically six months worth of income.
Jose Hector Galvez says he’s barely able to keep his family fed, let alone repair the leaky thatched roof of their home. In fact, it was the prospect of fixing the roof that led to their family being separated.