In the early hours one morning this February, with night still clinging to the horizon and cool air lingering over the surrounding strawberry fields, a couple headed to drop off their three children at daycare before taking the father to work for the day. They noticed flashing lights from an unmarked vehicle behind them on the country road in California’s Central Coast and pulled over. Less than an hour later, the father, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, would be on his way to San Francisco, in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The wife went home with her young children, according to a local attorney, Doug Keegan, who spoke with the family shortly after the incident.
She began a process that’s familiar to many immigrants and mixed-status families in the U.S. She started looking for a lawyer, and tried to figure out how she could visit her husband, who was in a cell nearly 100 miles away. She also began fielding interview requests from media outlets and offers of support from local community groups.
It’s a common scene in California and communities scattered across the country, one that often leads to severe economic and emotional stress for the families involved. ICE reported making more than 143,000 arrests in the 2017 fiscal year. When one parent is taken away, the other is left figuring out how to pay the bills. Parents must have difficult conversations with children who are concerned for their safety, and often fearful that the other parent will be taken away as well. Those children head back to schools that are ill prepared to deal with their needs in a time of crisis.
[For more on this story by Anna Maria Barry-Jester, go to https://www.centerforhealthjou...es-crisis-team-ready]
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