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Introduction
Sergia, a legal United States resident for more than 20 years, has been a single mother ever since her undocumented ex-husband was arrested, detained, and deported to Mexico. With five children, Sergia made ends meet by working the graveyard shift at a nut factory, and whenever possible, working for an informal shuttle service. While driving a group from San Antonio to Houston, Sergia got into an accident. The officer who came to the scene asked everyone in the van for their papers, and not all were able to show proof of their legal status. Sergia was charged with transporting undocumented residents, an aggravated felony, although she was not intentionally breaking any laws; she was not aware of her customers’ legal status. Sergia served four months in prison, and then was sent to a private detention facility.
Experience in Detention: A Daughter Becomes A Mother
Sergia’s detention was especially hard for her children. Her eldest daughter, Luissana, a student at University of Texas, was forced to care for her three younger siblings while pursuing a double major. Luissana, now the family’s main source of support, took out bank and student loans to continue her education, support her younger siblings, and to provide money for her mother in detention. Sergia’s detention was also an emotional strain on the children, as they could not even come in contact with her during visitation hours; they had to communicate through phones, each on the opposite side of a bullet proof barrier.
Luissana witnessed first hand the greedy profiteering of the private prison industry. She had to ensure that she could provide her with money for toiletries, telephone cards. She learned that everything is sold at a private company, and noted that the only thing that wasn’t sold was toilet paper, although that was sometimes rationed as well. Luissana discovered that these private prisons not only benefit from government contracts, but then take advantage of the detainees by charging outrageous prices for a necessary commodity, because the inmates are neither permitted nor able to buy from any other source.
Conclusion: An Unhappy Ending
After being held for 19 months in detention, Sergia Santibanez was deported to her native rural town in Michoacán, México. Sergia dreams of the day she will reunite with her children to care for them as she once did.
