Earlier this year, Susana and her seven-year-old daughter Litzy were torn apart and detained at the southern border by the Trump administration. But while Susana was eventually released and allowed to live with family in Virginia, Litzy was sent to a facility in New York City.
It’s a drive that could be done in a day and Susana would have willingly done it for her child, but because of her immigration status, 60 Minutes reported, she was forbidden. Instead, Susana’s only contact with Litzy could happen over the phone, usually twice a month when she could actually manage to get through.
“If you could see my little girl has suffered,” she told 60 Minutes. “I’ve heard her cry and scream. These are words I’m going to carry with me for my whole life.” Finally, after nearly four months, officials released Litzy and flew her to Washington, D.C. Susana cried as she hugged Litzy, who was tightly hugging a pink fuzzy bear.
The girl might be free, but she’s still a prisoner of her trauma. “I stayed with the family for another hour,” a 60 Minutes producer said, “and I observed Litzy say to her mother over and over again, ‘are they coming to take me away again?’”
Despite a federal judge’s reunification deadline, other children kidnapped from asylum seekers at the border continue to remain in U.S. custody, some because their parents were so carelessly deported by officials they have no idea of their current whereabouts. Donald Trump’s policy has created orphans.
Today, Wednesday, Nov. 28, marks 125 days since the judge’s deadline. Family separation remains a crisis.
