The 3-year-old girl traveled for weeks in her father's arms, as he set out to seek asylum in the United States. Now she won't even look at him.
After being forcibly separated at the border by government officials, sexually abused in U.S. foster care and deported, she arrived back in Honduras convinced her once-beloved father abandoned her. He fears their bond is forever broken.
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The 3-year-old girl traveled for weeks in her father's arms, as he set out to seek asylum in the United States. Now she won't even look at him.
This month new government data shows the little girl is one of an unprecedented 69,550 migrant children held in U.S. government custody over the past year, enough infants, toddlers, kids and teens to overflow the typical NFL stadium.
In this Sept. 24, 2019, photo, girls play dominos with a staff member at a shelter for migrant teenage girls, in Lake Worth, Fla. The nonprofit U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants opened the federally funded Rinconcito del Sol shelter this summer, aiming to make it a model of excellence in a system of 170 detention centers, residential shelters and foster programs which held nearly 70,000 migrant kids in the past year. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)
In this Sept. 24, 2019, photo, a migrant girl in U.S. government custody holds a card that says, in Spanish, “It doesn’t matter where you come from, it matters where you are going,” during a lesson on reproductive health and self esteem in Lake Worth, Fla. Detention can be traumatic for children, and the nonprofit U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants opened the federally funded Rinconcito del Sol shelter this summer, aiming to make it a model of excellence. Rinconcito del Sol is one of 170 detention centers, residential shelters and foster programs in 23 states which held nearly 70,000 migrant kids in the past year. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)
This Aug. 23, 2019, photo shows a stuffed animal hanging to dry at the Comayagua, Honduran home of a 3-year-old who was separated from her father when they tried to seek asylum at the U.S. southern border. She was sexually abused in U.S. foster care, according to court records. She was later deported and arrived back in Honduras withdrawn, anxious and angry. (AP PhotoElmer Martinez)
In this Aug. 23, 2019, photo, a Honduran father talks during an interview in Comayagua, Honduras about being separated from his 3-year-old daughter at the border after traveling for weeks to seek asylum in the U.S. Now she won’t even look at him. (AP PhotoElmer Martinez)
In this Aug. 23, 2019, photo, a Honduran father stands at his home in Comayagua, Honduras, after talking in an interview about being separated from his 3-year-old daughter at the border after traveling for weeks to seek asylum in the U.S. According to court records, his daughter was sexually abused in U.S. foster care. She was later deported and arrived back in Honduras withdrawn, anxious and angry. He fears their bond is forever broken. (AP PhotoElmer Martinez)
"I think about this trauma staying with her too, because the trauma has remained with me and still hasn't faded," he said, days after their reunion.
FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2019, file photo, girls dance as they do exercises at a shelter for migrant teenage girls, in Lake Worth, Fla. The nonprofit U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants opened the federally funded Rinconcito del Sol shelter this summer, aiming to make it a model of excellence in a system of 170 detention centers, residential shelters and foster programs which held nearly 70,000 migrant kids in the past year. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee, File)
This month new government data shows the little girl is one of an unprecedented 69,550 migrant children held in U.S. government custody over the past year, enough infants, toddlers, kids and teens to overflow the typical NFL stadium.
In this Sept. 24, 2019 photo, girls eat lunch at a shelter for migrant teenage girls, in Lake Worth, Fla. The nonprofit U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants opened the federally funded Rinconcito del Sol shelter this summer, aiming to make it a model of excellence in a system of 170 detention centers, residential shelters and foster programs which held nearly 70,000 migrant kids in the past year. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)
In this Sept. 24, 2019, photo, girls play dominos with a staff member at a shelter for migrant teenage girls, in Lake Worth, Fla. The nonprofit U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants opened the federally funded Rinconcito del Sol shelter this summer, aiming to make it a model of excellence in a system of 170 detention centers, residential shelters and foster programs which held nearly 70,000 migrant kids in the past year. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)
In this Sept. 24, 2019, photo, a migrant girl in U.S. government custody holds a card that says, in Spanish, “It doesn’t matter where you come from, it matters where you are going,” during a lesson on reproductive health and self esteem in Lake Worth, Fla. Detention can be traumatic for children, and the nonprofit U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants opened the federally funded Rinconcito del Sol shelter this summer, aiming to make it a model of excellence. Rinconcito del Sol is one of 170 detention centers, residential shelters and foster programs in 23 states which held nearly 70,000 migrant kids in the past year. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)
This Aug. 23, 2019, photo shows a stuffed animal hanging to dry at the Comayagua, Honduran home of a 3-year-old who was separated from her father when they tried to seek asylum at the U.S. southern border. She was sexually abused in U.S. foster care, according to court records. She was later deported and arrived back in Honduras withdrawn, anxious and angry. (AP PhotoElmer Martinez)
In this Aug. 23, 2019, photo, a Honduran father talks during an interview in Comayagua, Honduras about being separated from his 3-year-old daughter at the border after traveling for weeks to seek asylum in the U.S. Now she won’t even look at him. (AP PhotoElmer Martinez)
In this Aug. 23, 2019, photo, a Honduran father stands at his home in Comayagua, Honduras, after talking in an interview about being separated from his 3-year-old daughter at the border after traveling for weeks to seek asylum in the U.S. According to court records, his daughter was sexually abused in U.S. foster care. She was later deported and arrived back in Honduras withdrawn, anxious and angry. He fears their bond is forever broken. (AP PhotoElmer Martinez)
