A Texas mother and her 10-year-old daughter were reunited last week after being separated for six years. Despite being back together again, their fight is not over.
According to CNN, Sonia Almendarez fled Honduras six years ago when her 18-year-old son was kidnapped and killed. Before that, she had no intention of coming to the United States, turning down a prior offer to do so.
She expressed the desire to tell her immigration story to CNN en Español and people’s misconception when they talk about people immigrating to the United States.
“Don’t judge. No one should judge us,” Almendarez said. “If we were OK in our countries, we would not leave and risk our lives, or the lives of our children. We didn’t come here to get rich. We only came here to be safe, to stay alive — because now, in our country, we can’t.”
After establishing a new life in Texas, she hoped for the day her daughter, Ariadney, could join her. That seemed like it was becoming a reality for Almendarez until she learned her daughter had been separated from the group she was traveling with.
Thankfully, her daughter knew her number by heart, and an immigration official was able to reach her, letting her know her daughter was OK. After weeks of waiting, her daughter was finally released and flown to the Texas airport, where the two were reunited. Almendarez knows that an immigration judge will decide their fate, getting the final say in whether her daughter will remain in the U.S.
