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It was dawn and he was sleeping soundly, she said. They were detained the previous night in El Paso, Texas. The moment when someone told her to dress was the moment she learned that they were going to be separated. He was still asleep when they put him in a truck and drove him, she said.
When she was finally able to reach him Monday by phone in New York, she said that he refused to talk to him. CNN could not confirm how long it had been since their separation. But as Miriam said, it was long enough to make an impression on him.
After arresting her and separating her son, the government withdrew the charges against Miriam and released her, according to an El Paso advocacy group that helps reunite families.
Annunciation House said it interviewed 32 people including Miriam whose charges were withdrawn. They were released from detention with ankle monitors while they wait for immigration proceedings.
Legal Coordinator Taylor Levy released details of the 32 adults interviewed by the organization:
34 – Average age of the parent
ten – Average age of the child
25 – Average days in detention
3 – The number of parents who have personally spoken to their children since separation
29 – The number of parents who have not personally spoken to their children since the separation
They came from three countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras.
Five of these people, including Miriam, shared their accounts at a Monday press conference organized by the faith-based charity. Adults, identified by their first name only, can no longer face criminal charges at this time. But they say that the experience has already left lasting emotional and psychological scars on them and their children.
Two of the men used the Spanish word "damaged" to describe their feelings – damaged, broken or injured.
"I'm so damned for what has happened that it's hard for me to say anything about it," said Melvin. It's been a month since the last time he heard or talked to his 17-year-old son, he said.
"I asked … please expel me with my child … he said that there was no way to do it"
Iris said that it took her 15 days for her to travel to the border with her Honduran son. When she arrived, she said that the first thing she had told her was that she was going to be arrested and face charges.
"You are considered a criminal in the United States," she said.
It was the sixth birthday of her son, she said. He was with her when she heard the news. She believes that he started crying because he knew what was going to follow.
When she asked if they could be deported together, she was told no, she said. She would go to jail and go to a shelter. She could do it easily or the hard way she said that she had been told.
"We are not criminals, we are just people who want a better life," she said. "If we were criminals, we would not take our children with us."
She said her son is in Arizona but she does not know where. She was not able to talk to her, she said.
"My message to the president for the moment is:" I hope God forgives you for what you have done to all parents, it is very cruel. "
"I came to this country in search of a better future"
Mario said that his daughter was 10 years old on Monday and that he was hoping to spend his birthday with her. But he was unable to reach it through the phone number provided by the authorities.
He appeared before reporters Monday with a call for help:
"They gave us a number to call to get in touch with our children, but we continue to call and no one answers. I take the opportunity to ask officials to contact us please for tell us where our children are.
He too said that he was shocked to learn upon his arrival from Honduras that he would be arrested, he said. His daughter cried and begged to stay with him, he said. He asked the police why they would arrest him for trying to protect her and offer her a better future.
"I told them that they should not separate me from her because I came to this country in search of a better future."
"Dad, you're going to jail and I'm going, I do not know where?"
Christian could barely talk about his 5-year-old daughter without breaking down. He said that he had come from Honduras in search of a better life for her.
When the officials separated them, the little girl tried to comfort her father by telling her that she would not be mad at him. But she also said something else that made her tear up in front of the cameras:
"Dad, you go to jail and I go I do not know where," he said, quoting his daughter.
She's in Chicago now, he says, and he's talked to her on the phone. She still maintains a comprehensive perspective for the future, he said.
"She said that as long as we could be together, she would be happy."
Lynn Franco and Dianne Gallagher of CNN contributed to this report.
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