Priscilla Monico Marín, Young Center-New York Managing Attorney tells the story of Ariel:
In the spring of 2019, we were appointed to the case of 4-year-old Ariel* who was taken from his father when they crossed the border seeking help.
Ariel’s father has a speech impediment that made it particularly hard for him to tell his story to border patrol agents. Although he showed them a photocopy of Ariel’s birth certificate, immigration agents took his son away from him under the pretext of unconfirmed parental relationship. Ariel was sent to a shelter in New York, while his father was held in ICE detention in Arizona.
My colleagues in our New York office met with Ariel and contacted family members in the U.S. and in his home country. We had to advocate with multiple federal agencies for both the release and reunification of father and son. With help from allied organizations, we were able to reunify Ariel and his father in September.
"When they gave him back to me, I started crying because they had separated me from him for four months and 15 days,” Ariel’s father recently told CBS News who profiled the story.
Your support makes sure children like Ariel are reunified with their families. Please consider helping more immigrant children this holiday season.
Thank you so much,
Priscilla Monico Marín
Managing Attorney, New York
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*We rarely share a child’s actual name or photos in stories, but do so today because telling this story was Ariel’s father’s decision—as it should be.
**Photo of Ariel and his father courtesy of Camilo Montoya-Galves / CBS News.
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The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights works with the most vulnerable unaccompanied and separated immigrant children in federal custody so that their voices are heard and their best interests are protected. We also advocate for an immigration system that treats children as children.
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