Tearful reunion
N.M. event brings together families, ‘dreamers’ left in limbo
N.M. event brings together families, ‘dreamers’ left in limbo
SUNLAND PARK – Families and young “dreamers” gathered at the border fence in New Mexico for an emotional reunion and called on a divided Congress to “keep our dreams alive.”
The event organized by the Border Network for Human Rights Sunday highlighted the concerns of young “dreamers” who are living in limbo since President Donald Trump ended Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals or DACA, a temporary protection for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
It was also a time for reunions for about 50 family members including husbands, and wives, children and parents, and siblings.
A grandmother on the U.S. side cried with joy at seeing her baby grandson’s smile for the first time.
Miriam Orozco Gonzalez and Rogelio Dominguez Parra got married in a quick ceremony at the fence with their young son Adrian serving as a ring bearer. The bride lives in Houston with their son. Dominguez was deported to Mexico.
The special event happened with Border Patrol agents watching from a short distance. Normally, crowds are not allowed to gather at the fence, a federal zone and secure border area.
“I appreciate the opportunity to see him, to be together for just a few minutes, even with the fence between us,” said Rocio Marquez from Berino.
She reunited with her husband Ruben Alberto Marquez for the first time since he was deported in May and brought along Fernando, 12, and Maria, 7, two of the couples four children.
“This is very hard, especially because its the holidays when families want to be together,” she said. “We’re supposed to be together. So you feel the loneliness, the emptiness even more.”
The gathering at the border fence between Sunland Park and Anapra, Chihuahua began with a prayer from El Paso Catholic Bishop Mark Seitz.
“Here we live this sad reality everyday, of family separations, of deportations. The fear is here and so is the hope of finding a solution,” said Seitz.
Dreamers from both sides of the border spoke to the crowd on a microphone handed back and forth through the vertical steel slats of the border fence.
“Now is not the time to stay at home and cry,” said Wendy Castro, 19, a college students in Las Cruces and DACA recipient. “Now it’s time to stand up for yourself and others who don’t have a voice.”
Castro is among more than 6,800 young people who had qualified for DACA in New Mexico alone. She lost her DACA status Dec. 1.
President Trump has urged Congress to come up with a more permanent solution for an estimated 800,000 dreamers granted temporary protection by an executive action under President Obama.
Democrats want DACA addressed as part of spending deal to avoid a government shutdown. A deadline is looming since funding runs out Dec. 22.