For many undocumented immigrant families in the United States deportation and being separated from family is a constant fear. They constantly worry about raids and arrests from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Maria Martha Rodriguez's family is no exception. She was born in Honduras in 1965 and first came to the United States in 1994. She went back for a few years to take care of her children and sick mother.
That was until they returned to America in 2005 illegally, but Rodriguez is not hiding. She goes to all her federal check-ins with ICE. In past years, that was enough to keep her family together while they worked on a green card.
WUSA9 has been reporting on the nearly 2,000 kids that are separated from their parents at the Mexican border. That reality is not just for the kids being stored in a Walmart in Texas or for parents in detention centers. For local families that fate feels closer than ever. After the Trump administrations' crackdowns, the check-ins that used to be just a routine are now filled with the fear that her family could be separated.
On Sunday, Rodriguez sat beside her daughter Yessenia Cedillo in their New Carrollton home in Maryland.
Rodriquez mainly speaks Spanish and Cedillo, who is a legal citizen, translated.
"Children separated from their parents," said Cedillo who was translating, "It's terrible to have to go through that. No one deserves that and now that I'm facing this it feels even worst that it's been a reality for me too."
In this household residency status is always in the back of their mind. Rodriquez has a younger son who is 15 that was born in Honduras and did not qualify for the Deferred Action Childhood Arrival (DACA).
Maria Martha Rodriguez is holding on to every second. She could be deported at any moment.
"I remember that every night I would go to sleep, and I would cry and wish that I was with my mom," explained Cedillo as she remembered when she was separated from her mother in years past while she went back to Honduras. "Now, when I think about it, I think that I don't want to go through that again."
When asked if Rodriguez felt that the United has let her down she replied that she did. She went on to explain that growing up in Honduras she feared gangs and was in an abusive relationship. During that time she heard idealistic stories about how the US was full of opportunity and safety.
"I do feel that it has let me down. Not just me but everyone else," said Rodriguez. "I never imagined that this would be happening at this country."
Rodriguez plans to report to her ICE check-in on July 9th and hopes it will not be the last time she sees her children.
