ONCE UPON A TIME...

Do you remember reading books when you were a little kid and then thinking that the story was too good to be true? I do, I remember reading them and I also remember watching movies or stuff in the news and thinking that would never happen to me. But as it turns out I was wrong.

On March 14 of 2013 at 9:45 am, I received the phone call that would literally change our lifes, the house phone ring, I knew it was Amner because he was the only one that would call the house, I hurry to answer I had something to tell him about my mom's birthday. I didn't had a chance to tell him, because he was just calling to tell me that he was being detained by Immigration, because he had an order of deportation.

I remember that he told me that everything was going to be OK, that I had to be strong and that he love me, I don't remember if I even said anything to him, I just remember feeling like I was going to lose him.

Amner was in jail for 68 days, under immigration custody although he committed no crime. We were on hell for 68 days, for 68 days I lie to my kids telling them papi was at work, for 68 days I felt like the worst person in the planet because I couldn't get Amner out of there, for 68 days I didn't knew if my kids were going to grow up without a dad.

My family and Amner's family and all of our amazing friends were a huge support to us, Amner will call me everyday and tell me about his day not all of them were good most of them were very bad, you could tell that as time pass by that he missed his children more and more. He would tell me that his job was to be strong in there and that my job was to be strong outside. He started writing me letters, letters that were beautiful. He would call me "Superwoman" and he would tell me, that we were raising the next generation of "super heroes".

The first time I went to see him, he told me that he had almost forgotten how beautiful I was, and that the dress that I was wearing made me look like a "goddess". I still don't believe that I deserve him. The whole time he was in there, I kept telling myself how could this happen to us? I remember watching the news and seeing families being separated, in most of the cases the parents were always deported and the kids will go into foster care. My heart will always break for those families but I don't why I never tough it could happen to us.

We were one of the lucky and very few families that end up together. 

It's very sad to say this for me but I have live in the United States for almost 10 years and not once before Amner went to jail, I took part of an event supporting an immigration reform, but you know at least we are doing in it now, because we are not scared of our voices being heard anymore and now we get to take Luca and Azul along to teach them how to be peaceful, but powerful people and to always be very proud of where we come from.

This post is getting a little too long, so I will finish this by telling you that if you think that is unjust that families are being torn apart and that humans beings are being treated like animals please support this cause in anyway you can. We are not asking for a lot just to be treated like humans and to have the right to feed our children and not to be compared with drug smugglers or dogs.

I AM NOT A DRUG SMUGGLER OR A DOG, I AM A HARD WORKING MOTHER OF TWO YEAR OLD TWINS, SISTER OF THREE INTELLIGENT BOYS WHICH TWO OF THEM ARE DREAMERS AND DAUGHTER OF THE MOST AMAZING WOMAN, THAT LEFT ALL HER LIFE BEHIND JUST TO BRING ME TO THE USA TO HAVE A BETTER FUTURE.

I will live you with the speech that my beautiful man gave this past Saturday (I can't even tell you how proud I am of him), and I will attach links to some of  organizations that can keep you informed please feel free to add in the comments box if you have any other organizations I would really appreciate it so we can keep everyone informed. And call your senator, tell him that WE NEED A HUMANE IMMIGRATION REFORM NOW!

Laura.

American Friends Service Committee.
Iowa Citizen Action Network.
Iowa Dream Act Coalition
Move On
breakthrough
Iowa Citizens For Community Improvement
League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa