A Guatemalan mother finally reunited with her daughter at a Florida airport four years after they were separated at the southwestern border.
María Chic, 32, and Adelaida Chic, 10, were among the 1,768 families who were separated in 2017 by the administration of former President Donald Trump for unlawfully crossing the United States-Mexico border before the 'zero-tolerance' policy on illegal migration went into effect in April 2018, according to Telemundo.
María made it across the border with her child and her sister, Patricia Chic, before they were detained by the U.S. Border Patrol agent. She recalled an agent pulling her daughter by the shirt and instructing them that they had go before sharing a hug.
Adelaida was eventually transferred from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) holding center to a shelter in New York.
María was held for seven months at the Eloy Detention Center in Eloy, Arizona and then deported her and her sister back to Guatemala.
Guatemala natives Adelaida Chic (left) and her mother María Chic (right) were recently reunited after spending four years apart following their arrest for unlawfully crossing the United States-Mexico in the summer of 2017. They were among the 1,768 families who were separated that year by the administration of former President Donald Trump before the 'zero-tolerance' policy on illegal migration went into effect in April 2018, according to Telemundo
María Chic (right) hug her 10-year-old daughter, who she had not seen in four years, at an airport in Florida
María remembered one of the very first video conference calls that she had with her upset daughter who asked, 'Mommy, why did you leave me here?'
The Office of Refugee Resettlement later awarded the custody of Adelaida to her aunt in Florida, where she has been attending school.
The pain of being away from her daughter forced María to attempt to cross the border two more times, but she was expelled on both occasions.
The Seattle time reported that during an August 2017 meeting to request asylum, the Guatemalan mother told the U.S. immigration interpreter, 'I hope you or the officer can give me the opportunity to stay here with my daughter. I don't want to return to the things that happened in Guatemala.'
She learned last month that she had been granted permission to come to the United States and reunite with her child thanks to the help of non-profit civil groups who provide assistance to families who have been split at the border.
As of June 8, the
