Brazilian mother and son, migrants separated for 9 months, reunited in El Paso

ABC’s World News tonight first brought you the story on Thursday about Jocelyn and her son, James, being separated by immigration officials along the El Paso Border.

EDITOR’S NOTE: ABC-7 removed Jocelyn’s last name from this article at the request of her attorney.

Both are from Brazil and are reportedly trying to escape death threats from James’s father. Once the mother and son were detained by immigration officials on August 17, 2017, James was snatched away from Jocelyn, leaving both mother and son stunned and confused.

Jocelyn said it was only after 25 days that she learned James was taken to a detention center in Chicago, thousands of miles away.

After nine months, Jocelyn’s prayers were answered and she learned she would be reunited with her son. A little after noon on Tuesday, the 14 year old stepped off an escalator at the El Paso International Airport and into the joyful arms of his tearful mother.

“These are tears of happiness because we had been separated for far too long,” said Jocelyn. “He is big and tall. That’s my beautiful son,” said Jocelyn pointing to her almost six-foot tall 14 year old.

Jocelyn believes her son is traumatized. She told ABC-7 she learned of behavioral problems James was showing while detained.

“She had some reports of behavior from him that were completely out of character. She 100 percent believes that it had to do with the fact that they were separated and the way it happened,” said Linda Rivas with Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center.

Jocelyn told ABC-7 she wants to stay in the US with her son and find a better life. More than anything else, she said as she walked off to the airport parking lot, she wants to never be separated from her son again.