'We Are Desperate Parents': Immigrant Detainees Plead to Be Reunited With Children in Touching Letter
A group of parent immigrants at a detention center in Texas has penned an open letter dedicated to the people of the United States, pleading for help and to be reunited with their children.
"To the people of the United States, please help us. We are desperate parents," the message began, as obtained and translated into English by CNN. The original letter was a handwritten missive dated July 15, and jointly written in Spanish by some 54 adult detainees at the Port Isabel Service Detention Center in Los Fresnos, Texas.
They added in their message that they are now feeling "abandoned," especially now that their kids might not recognize them or their voices anymore. The adult immigrants also added that they have crossed the border to save the lives of their families and that they are not criminals — even though they face criminal charges under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" border policy.
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The parents have also claimed that the border officials have "kidnapped our children with tricks," and without even leaving them with a chance to have a last word with their kids, according to CNN's translation.
"Each day is more painful that the last. Many of us have only had the chance to speak to our children once," the letter went on, as quoted by Bustle.
"The children cry, they don't recognize our voices and they feel abandoned and unloved. This makes us feel like we are dead," the open message to the U.S. people continued.
A court has ordered the U.S. government to reunite the children with their parents, starting from those aged under five years old. The deadline for the younger set has already passed last week on Tuesday, July 10, as the Trump administration bargained for more time.
The current deadline set for July 26 for children 5 and older is fast approaching as well.
