|
I was born in a town in Mexico where my parents, my brother, and I were victims of extreme violence, and I was forced to leave in order to work and send financial help to my parents. I arrived in the United States in the year 2000, having walked across the desert. I settled in San Francisco, California, where I lived for a year and a half.
In October 2001, I moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan; I have lived here for 25 years, and during this time, I have built a family. I have two sons to whom I have dedicated my life—raising them, teaching them values, and showing them how to live with respect and dignity, while always encouraging them to better themselves and strive for their dreams. My eldest son is an automotive technician, and my youngest son is an HVACR technician.
I have always worked hard and fought to provide a better life for my children. When they were in school, I got involved and served as a volunteer parent in various parent groups. I have done the same in my faith community at St. Mary; to this day, I serve as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
It is at this parish that my sons received all their sacraments—Baptism, Reconciliation, First Communion, and Confirmation. It is also where my husband and I received the Sacrament of Matrimony, and where we have volunteered at various events for our Catholic community.
I consider myself a respectful woman of strong values, and I have always treated the working community with that same respect. I managed to start a small house-cleaning business, and I have been blessed that my clients have opened their homes to me and treated me like family, rather than just as a worker.
The day ICE arrested me was incredibly difficult for me. I felt as though everything I had fought for and built was crumbling down, and I felt like it was the end of my entire life in the United States. I felt fear, helplessness, and even anger, not knowing what the future might hold.
At the North Lake detention center in Baldwin, where I was taken, you see all kinds of injustices—a 70-yearold grandmother arrested by ICE at her immigration court hearings and brought to the Baldwin facility. I saw a person in a wheelchair whose feet had been broken by ICE agents on the day of her arrest. I saw people recovering from cancer surgeries and even transplants right there in the detention center, waiting for help from some of us fellow detainees.
The food there is terrible; you have to buy food, personal hygiene items, and even clothing online. Living together is very stressful; everyone fights over anything—over the microwaves to heat up food, the bathrooms, the TVs, or the tablets used for calls and video chats. I even witnessed two very violent fights. I understand the reasons why, because there is so much desperation and anguish; most of us were mothers with children who had been left behind.
What always kept me strong and hopeful was my faith. The faith I held onto allowed me to see and understand that nothing was within my control anymore; all I could do was place myself in God's hands and let His will be done. That was the mission God gave me in that place: to share peace and hope with my fellow detainees and, above all, to encourage them to have faith.
I used to say a prayer before meals, and as the days went by, the other women would wait for me to bless the food before they started eating. I began praying the Rosary; at first, we were a small group, but it grew until there were 17 of us women. I would like to take this moment to thank you and to say how grateful I am for the support you have shown—not only to me but also to my children—in so many different ways. I am grateful for the support of everyone who knew me, and especially for those who didn't know me personally but whose hearts I may have touched, and who stepped forward to help in any way necessary.
I offer special thanks to our parish and to the Jesuit priests at St Mary. Thank you again for everything, and may God bless each and every one of you.
| 
