Central American immigrant parents agonize when child crosses border alone

CNN ^ | June 21, 2014 | By Michael Martinez and Jaqueline Hurtado

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Like many immigrant parents of Central American children who cross the U.S.-Mexico border alone, Elva Marroquin Rosales is now in agony over what became of her two small youngsters who dared to enter the United States illegally by crossing Rio Grande River.

For two or three weeks, the Los Angeles area mother heard nothing about her son Angel, 10, and daughter Dulce, 7. It's a silence many Central American families in the United States endure, wondering for weeks or even months if their child is alive or dead.

Then, Marroquin finally heard word about two weeks ago: she received a phone call from an "immigration" official in Texas who desperately sought the mother's voice in order to calm her two sobbing children, who were apparently in a detention facility.

"My children were heartbroken, sad, tearful, crying beyond comparison, begging me to take them out of there," Marroquin, 25, said. "Their begging was so distressing because I couldn't run to get them."

Since then, Marroquin has been unable to track down the detention facility in Texas that called her, and now the angst of her children's absence goes on, day after day.

[Cloverfarm]

What kind of parent sends kids that age thousands of miles with strangers to a foreign country where they don’t know the language?

Good Lord! (Praying, not profanity.) Unbelievable.

[cripplecreek]

How do you say “What train”? in spanish?

[IronJack]

A 25 year old illegal alien "Mom" sends her 10 year old son and 7 year old daughter alone with a coyote the length of Mexico and illegally enter the US ... and we're supposed to feel sorry for them?

Exactly! It's not like mamacita sent the lovable tykes down to the store for a gallon of milk.

[Ellendra]

The times I was in Central America, there were herds of kids looking after themselves. It was common for the parents to go off to work and leave the kids to their own devices all day. I also saw kids as young as 6 running the family stall at the market, by themselves and completely unsupervised.

While I agree this parent has burned their parenting card, I wouldn’t guarantee they had any “control” even when the kids were home.

[Fungi]

Good point, and guess what, I was one of those kids, working half my life for nothing to help my father at his business. I was also farmed out to my three uncles for nothing, once again, not even a thank you. It is simply a matter of culture, I won't go into the morality.

[CitizenUSA]

In a sane world, the “mom” and her two children would be deported immediately. Let me enter another country illegally and try the same shenanigans. I’d be lucky if I didn’t do jail time in addition to being tossed out.

[CitizenUSA]

Oh, we must unite them immediately...in their home country.

[CitizenUSA]

For the life of me, I don’t understand how comprehensive immigration reform is going to solve any of this. Let’s say the Democrats and GOPe manage to push it through. In what we will that change anything other than to start another wave of illegals? If there is no will to stop this malarkey NOW, what makes anyone think there will be will to stop it later with or without amnesty? It’s either open borders and no more America, or we enforce existing law and defend our culture and nation.

[Jack Hammer]

Yeah - they agonize about what they’re gonna do with all the taxpayer-funded cash and benefits.

[john mirse]

To control our southern borders and stop the thousands of children from Latin America from sneaking into the United States, we need at least two new amendments to the Constitution, something like this:

1. "School attendance: Only citizens, legal residents, those with special student visas can attend elementary, high school, and colleges in the United States."

2. "One parent must be a citizen before a newborn child is given automatic citizenship."

3. Felony: We must finally declare that crossing the border illegally is a felony.

Illegal parents come to the United States for the wonderful benefits that their children can receive, like a quality education and great health care. Can you blame them for making the dangerous, long trip with their young children, or sending their children by themselves with the hope that the United States will automatically let them stay?

I don't understand how a child can illegally cross the southern border one day and automatically be eligible to enroll in public school the next day. That is wrong.