A mother’s reunion with her young son following a four-month ICE separation turned to heartache when the traumatized boy appeared to not recognize her.
Video recorded by the ACLU shows little Sammy acting nervous and confused when his mother tried to comfort him at a Houston airport.
Sammy’s father Ever Reyes-Mejia and the 3-year-old boy had come to the U.S. from violence-filled Honduras seeking asylum in April, according to the ACLU.
They were together in a Texas detention center for a while, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials would take Sammy to a foster care agency in Michigan without his father having a chance to say goodbye, the ACLU said.
Father and son were separated for more than three months and Sammy was so upset that he would not speak to his father on the phone during that time, according to the ACLU.
hey were reunited in July after a federal judge ordered the government to stop splitting up families. They connected in Michigan, and then traveled to Houston to finally reunite with Sammy’s mother and his 5-month-old sister, who had been in detention as part of their own efforts for asylum.
“I counted the minutes until I saw him, and when they told me he was on his way over I felt like I wanted him here that second, my soul couldn’t take it, but I am happy with my son,” Sammy’s mother said.
However, Sammy appeared confused when the reunion took place. He refused to look her in the eyes. He eventually allowed his mother to cradle him.
“There is no greater threat to a child’s emotional well-being than being separated from a primary caregiver,” University of Houston psychology professor Johanna Bick told The New York Times. “Even if it was for a short period, for a child, that’s an eternity.”
Source: NY Daily
