"It’s like a psychological war to force you to sign your own deportation papers. It gets to the point where you just want to be deported because you can’t take it anymore. That is ICE’s psychological warfare. Rotten food, the lights, freezing AC, and the mistreatment from the guards. And they themselves know that you cannot last a long time in there.”
Alyse: “My mom said, that every day my three-year old would ask, ‘Can I talk to daddy? Where’s daddy? Can daddy tuck me in?’”
Elmer: “But that’s what I understand the purpose of ICE to be, to cause despair within people, because I couldn’t bear it any longer. After the 11th day, I didn’t feel any ounce of strength. When the ICE officer told me that there was an airplane here to deport me, I gave thanks to God, because I couldn’t take it any longer.”
Alyse: “Both kids cry at night for him. They seem to have a lot of anxiety.”
Elmer: “They told me, if I didn’t sign my own deportation order, I would have to give a finger print. If I didn’t give it, they had four guards behind me that would grab me by the arms and legs, force open my hand, and force me to give my finger print.
"The reason I didn’t sign was because I couldn’t abandon my kids or wife. All that I have is her and them. Here is where my family is.”
Alyse: “When I got to see him for the first time, I was crying because I didn’t realize it was going to be behind glass.”
Elmer: “I don’t have anything in Honduras. I’ve lived here for 13 years. My mom died almost a day before I was arrested. So then, I only have my children.”
Alyse: “The kids saw him for a little bit while he was behind glass. And the kids couldn’t understand why they couldn’t come around the wall and hug him. I asked, ‘Why is he behind glass like a murderer?’ We can’t hug him. It’s almost the same as if he’s not there.”
Elmer: “I love my wife and kids very much. But what scares me most is leaving my children alone because they have no fault in this. That is the ugliest part of all of this. Many homes are being destroyed because of a government policy. Nobody wants to leave their children. That is the trauma that stays with a person—being separated from your family. That is the trauma that will always stay with me.”
The ACLU and Venable LLP filed for a temporary restraining order to prevent Elmer’s deportation and were able to have him released from ICE custody on June 19. Elmer was reunited with his family that very same day.
Alyse: “When the kids saw Elmer for the first time the other day, their faces lit up. My three-year old was literally shaking and screaming, ‘Papi, papi, papi!’ He was almost crying the words. He was so excited.”
As happy as the reunion day was for the family, sadly, the trauma from being held in detention is still with Elmer.
Elmer: “I feel different — a bit strange. I feel sorrow because it’s not just my case. Inside, many people are going through the same thing. It’s another world in there.
"Even if you’d like to feel strong and say you’ll forget about it, it’s not something that can be forgotten so easily, because its psychological fear that they put into you.
"I have so much fear inside my apartment. I have my kids playing in their room with the TV on low volume, and silence in the living room so that I can hear who is passing by, to hear what is happening outside of my door. That is the fear that I feel.”