09:42 – "Mum lies": the hard life of the children of migrants separated from their parents in the United States



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José, a little boy who braved the dangerous crossing of Mexico with his mother to arrive in the United States, does not understand. It's been months since he saw his mother.

She had promised him a Spiderman piñata for his fourth birthday, but the day came, not her.

She said she would come get him but she did not.

She lies, says José

In fact, the boy does not know it, but it is owned by the American authorities. As the child's adoptive mother, she did not have the necessary papers when they crossed the border.

Children arriving from Central America often flee crime, violence or poverty. But their trials do not end with their journey.

Absence of documents, information and legal aid complicate their situation.

This is the case of José, the adopted son of a Honduran woman of 51 years old arrested when she applied for asylum in McAllen, Texas, at the end of December

"My mother lies, she does not come, she does not come," he says angrily on the phone, A lawyer helping her family

José spent nearly a month in a juvenile detention center before being handed over to his 30-year-old sister in Texas

"My mother came here because if she had spent another month in Honduras, she would have been killed, "says the young woman, who requested anonymity. "A man beat her, without the neighbors he would have killed him with a machete."

– "Zero Tolerance" –

A US federal court ordered last month that 2,000 to 3,000 children separated from their parents, within the framework of the controversial policy of "zero tolerance" of the administration of Donald Trump, can find them on July 26 at the latest.

The time has already pbaded for 103 of them aged five years or less, but the government was able to gather only 57 of them with their families. For the others, the executive invoked the expulsion of their parents, or the criminal record of the latter, or other reasons not to end the separation.

In the case of José, the mother could not provide the necessary papers to prove the adoption.

According to the boy's sister, his biological mother, who did not want the child, entrusted him to this woman the same day of his

"All the neighbors have testified, they are all aware, because the girl had always said that she was going to entrust the baby," she says.

But that was not enough for US authorities.

Lawyer badisting this family, Sara Ramey, collected evidence, photos and medical records to prove adoption.

"Many Central American societies, including Honduras, have a Informal issues such as child custody, they rely on the community, "Sara Sara told AFP mey, director of the Migrant Center for Human Rights in San Antonio, Texas

"We want our government to verify family relations," she pleads, baduring that it is "beneficial" to José. According to the lawyer, the authorities have already established that the mother cares for the boy. All that's missing is the certificate of adoption.

There are all sorts of reasons beyond their control that can deprive immigrants of crucial papers, says Maureen Meyer of the Washington Office on Latin America. [19659002Pedroanotherthree-year-oldboycouldnotbegiventohismothereitherInhercasethisisherbiologicalmotherbutshehadalreadybeenexpelledoncewhensheappliedforasyluminApril

This 25-year-old woman is now detained in Texas and Pedro has been entrusted to a great-aunt after spending a month in a detention center too

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