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Background Before Detention
FG’s story is one of hardship and love that found him becoming a father and marrying a woman from a well-educated, upper middle class American family, and then subsequently torn apart by a cruel immigration system.
FG is the oldest of eight children from a small village in Honduras. Living in abject poverty, FG attended school through fifth grade and then dropped out to support his family. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch struck Honduras and caused widespread damage and destroyed the boating service FG’s father ran. Left with few prospects, FG, along with two of his brothers and two sisters decided to attempt the long journey to the United States. Eventually, the family made it to Colorado.
SA comes from an upper middle class American family, where both parents have graduate degrees. SA has spent considerable time abroad and is working towards a master’s degree. While working odd jobs in Colorado, FG met his wife SA through friends. The two dated, SA got pregnant and feeling strongly about the obligations of a father, FG committed to marrying her. Soon, FG found work as a utility line operator where he made $10-12/hr with which he could support his family.
Circumstances Leading to Detention,
Prior to meeting SA, FG attended a party at which he got into a drunken fight and pled guilty to “felony menacing”, a charge his family believes was trumped up given that he barely spoke English at the time and didn’t understand the full weight of his plea. In August 2006, FG was detained for violating his parole after he missed a court date because their child was sick at home. As a result, FG was held in detention until Thanksgiving 2006.
Experience of Being a Detainee
During his three-month stay at the Aurora, CO Detention Center operated by the GEO Corp, FG’s health deteriorated and his family suffered. At Aurora, detainees are not allowed physical contact with their families, and there is only one phone for 500 people. Phone cards can be bought through the commissary at $3/min, but this cost is often too high for detainees whose only income is money sent by family members.
Food is another problem for detainees at Aurora, as it is often cold, bland, and not enough. FG lost 15 pounds while in detention because he could not afford the cost of food available through the commissary. He began to suffer from stomach pains and asked repeatedly to see a doctor. After four days of complaining about his pain, FG was taken to the infirmary at 4:00 a.m. where facility officials drew blood to test his health.
FG routinely complained about sleeping conditions. The center was overcrowded with 500 beds in a 300-bed facility. To create room for the additional people, detention personnel squeezed extra cots into the large, open rooms where everyone lives. Detainees complain that bright lights and noises from other people are disruptive to their sleep.
Impact on Family
FG was ordered deported to Mexico in November 2006 where he now lives in Chiapas. SA made the difficult decision to re-locate with him, leaving behind her extended family and friends. They are joined part time by their two US citizen children, ages two and eight. The eight-year-old has learning disabilities and spends the school year in Colorado with his grandparents in order to get appropriate educational assistance. Prior to FG’s deportation, SA was in the final stages of her master’s degree but has struggled to finish it abroad. FG and SA hope one day to reunite their broken family, but their chances are severely limited. Meanwhile, FG’s in-laws are angry about a system that tears families apart and leaves grandparents to tend to children who should be with their parents. They are learning as so many before them have: the current immigration system serves to break apart hardworking, loving families.
