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Siblings set to leave Miami for Guatemala after eight months apart from mother
A 1-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl, both U.S. citizens, are scheduled to fly from Miami to Guatemala on Friday to reunite with their mother, who was deported eight months ago. A South Florida nonprofit helped arrange the trip after the children’s grandmother sought assistance.
Two siblings who have spent eight months living apart from their mother are scheduled to leave Miami International Airport for Guatemala on Friday, accompanied by a foster family helping them make the journey.
The children — a 1-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl, both U.S. citizens — had been living with their grandmother in South Carolina since their mother was deported to Guatemala, according to information provided by the Guatemalan Maya Center.
The center said immigration authorities detained the mother while she was driving with her 4-year-old daughter in the car. The organization said the mother had no criminal record.
After eight months, the grandmother became concerned about her own immigration status and contacted the center for help. Volunteers traveled to collect the children and brought them to South Florida, where they stayed with a foster family ahead of the planned reunion.
“It’s just devastating to see this sort of trauma these children are going through,” said Lindsay McElroy of the Guatemalan Maya Center.
McElroy said the 4-year-old cried when she saw police officers or heard sirens during the drive south, recalling her mother’s arrest. The children have grown up in the United States and often choose to speak English, she said.
The flight is part of the center’s efforts to reunite children with parents deported to Guatemala. The foster family is scheduled to accompany the siblings to the country to meet their mother.