A two-year-old boy is sorting colors and animals at a LEAP childcare facility in Santa Barbara County. He grabs the correct red, blue, and pink pieces of his puzzle and places them in their slots with pride. This is where he should be — with his peers, playing and learning outside.
But just two weeks ago, his situation was very different.
We aren’t naming him or his mom, but last month, he made headlines around the world when it emerged he was sick and struggling after not eating for 9 days, in an ICE detention center in Texas.
In an exclusive interview with KCLU, his mom talked about them being taken into ICE custody during a routine immigration appointment as part of their asylum claim.
"We got detained on March 19th, and as soon as we were taken, we were placed in detention, and he stopped eating," she said. "What affected him the most, in my opinion, is that he was separated from his father."
She said the boy is traumatized. And it's a trauma that he didn't have previously, because DHS agents forced him into a car seat and tied him up forcefully. Since then, he's had a terrible fear of car seats.
Mom and son were separated from his father and flown to Texas — the child still strapped in his car seat — and held at the notorious Dilley detention center, also known as South Texas Family Detention Center.
There have been growing calls for the center to be closed, as alleged inhumane conditions have come under growing scrutiny.
"It was four families to each room. The lights were on 24/7...and the attendants would come and look at you throughout the day and the night to see what you were doing. The food was in terrible condition, and that was probably why the children didn't want to eat it."
"It was four families to each room. The lights were on 24/7, day and night, and the attendants would come and look at you throughout the day and the night to see what you were doing," she explained.
"The food was in terrible condition, and that was probably why the children didn't want to eat it," she said.
She added that if she tried to force her son to eat, he'd want to vomit.
Many other children were also held at the detention center.
"There were so many children that you couldn't count them. There were children that were as young as [my son], all the way to their teenage years, that were incredibly stressed out because they were locked up."
Her eyes fill with tears as she tells me about her relief to be home. I asked about her feelings about sharing her story.
She said she came into this country asking for asylum. Now she's scared because she's still in the process of applying for asylum, so, as she said, she's fearful of sharing her story because she doesn't know how it might affect her asylum process.
That they are standing here in the sunshine is, in large part, because of the advocacy and support that was above and beyond the call of duty for this early childcare organization.
"It's a miracle that this family was able to get out and return home, but it's not an accident," said LEAP’s CEO, Lori Lander Goodman. "It's a reflection of the values and the community that we build every single day."
Team springs into action to help the family
After the little boy was featured on a news report, a lawyer stepped forward to help. Then LEAP began the work of finding the family a sponsor, securing plane tickets, and ensuring they had somewhere to live.
"LEAP took on the responsibility of purchasing what was needed, of getting the first month's rent for this room, making sure they had a refrigerator, a mattress, just basic stuff," explained Lander Goodman. "Then we started thinking about, okay, well, what happens when they get here? Who will pick them up at the airport?"
LEAP'S community engagement specialist, Laura Costilla, did — and it had been Laura who'd initially received a sudden phone call from mom from prison.
"This is completely a miracle. I was in disbelief. I was scared, and then she turned the corner, and we just cheered," she said.
"I'm so happy that we were able to get him back here," said Costilla. "We all love him so much, and he's so intelligent. He's just as intelligent as his mom, and he just loves being here and socializing with his friends."
In the 12 days they’d been gone, the family had lost their home and their belongings. Mom had lost her job. Dad is still detained.
It’s not back to life as normal. The trauma lives on. A GoFundMe was started to support the family.
There are countless others like them, still in the Dilley Detention Center.
The Department of Homeland Security has defended conditions at Dilley, saying it's a "family residential center designed specifically to house family units together in a safe, structured and appropriate environment,” said ICE Director Todd M. Lyons.
“What’s important for people to remember is that ICE detains to deport — so detention is not punitive, and Dilley is not a ‘correctional center’ or anything like that. It’s a place where families who have been in the U.S. illegally can get medical care, educational services, recreational opportunities, and essential daily living needs while they await deportation.”
