Family Reunited: Video of migrant toddler who crawls away from mother goes viral
A video released by the American Civil Liberties Union, depicting a migrant toddler who crawls away from his mother following their reunion at a Houston airport, is going viral on social media.
The ACLU said 3-year-old Sammy was separated from his father, Ever Reyes-Mejia, at a Texas detention center. The boy was taken across the country to Bethany Christian Services, a foster care agency in Michigan, the ACLU said.
Sammy’s family is reportedly fleeing violence in Honduras and is seeking asylum in the United States. The boy and his father entered the United States in April 2018 and turned themselves in to immigration authorities at an international port of entry in McAllen, Texas. Ever and Sammy were separated for nearly three and half months, the ACLU said.
On June 26, a federal judge, ruling in the ACLU’s class-action lawsuit, ordered the U.S. government to stop the separation of families and to reunite those who had already been separated. The ACLU said Ever was among the first group of parents prioritized for reunification because Sammy was under the age of 5. On July 10, Ever and his son were reunited at an ICE station in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
At a Houston airport Monday, Sammy reportedly refused to look his mother in the eyes and is seen pulling away from her embrace. The mother was trying to hold him, saying “I’m your mommy.” As Sammy crawled away, the woman is seen turning to her husband, asking him “What happened?”
The ACLU said that after several attempts, Sammy allowed his mother to pick him up. The woman later described the ordeal of being separated. “My soul was destroyed,” she said, according to the ACLU, “I didn’t know where he had gone or if my son was alone.”
The ACLU said the Reyes-Mejia family was allowed to reunite and stay with a family sponsor. They will have to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement frequently and will have to continue to use ankle monitors, the ACLU said.
