澳彩开奖

When Samuel called his family from the immigrant prison nearly six hours away from his home in South Carolina, his 8-year-old son was angry.

鈥淧apa, are you going to come home?鈥� Angel asked his father, who was calling from Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. 鈥淚 want to be with you, in the center.鈥�

Samuel told his son he would return home soon. But he didn鈥檛 know if he could keep his promise.

鈥淚 was always afraid I would be deported,鈥� he said in Spanish during a recent interview. 鈥淚 never knew if I was staying or being deported back to Honduras.鈥澛犅犅犅�

After more than a year away from his family, Samuel went home, but only after the Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative (SIFI) 鈥� a project of the 澳彩开奖 that provides pro bono legal representation to immigrants facing deportation proceedings in the Deep South 鈥� took on the hard-fought battle to secure his bond.

Samuel, who found work as a welder after coming to the U.S. in 2005, was the family鈥檚 breadwinner. At home, as his wife worked two jobs, he took Angel 鈥� who suffers from developmental delays and needs speech therapy 鈥� to pediatricians and multiple therapists.聽聽聽聽

He was making a good living and was providing for his family until he was arrested in the summer of 2018 during a workplace raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). His wife found an attorney for him, but before his hearing, he was transferred to a facility in South Carolina while awaiting a charge for a nonviolent offense. He spent five months behind bars, paid his fees and honored his debt to society. Samuel hadn鈥檛 harmed anyone and said he would never harm anyone. His was not a crime involving moral turpitude, or any crime that would subject him to mandatory detention. 聽

But after pleading guilty to the offense, he was again transferred to Stewart in January for removal proceedings. But this time, he didn鈥檛 have an attorney on his side.

Just a prisoner

The separation from his family, combined with abuse from the guards, made Samuel鈥檚 detention almost too difficult to bear.聽

鈥淸The guards] ask us, 鈥榃hy did you come to our country?鈥欌�� Samuel said. 鈥淭hey told us, 鈥榊ou don鈥檛 have rights here.鈥� They would threaten to put us into segregation. They kept the showers cold, and we weren鈥檛 given shampoo or toilet paper.鈥�

One morning, the guards threatened to throw him into solitary confinement just because he was talking to another detainee.

鈥淭hey keep people from eating, and even from speaking,鈥� he said, adding that the guards would often threaten to have them deported. 鈥淢ost are racist. They always yell . . . 聽. You鈥檙e supposed to treat them with respect, but they don鈥檛 respect you. We are treated as prisoners, nothing more.鈥澛犅犅犅�

During the day, Samuel was given an hour outside to play soccer on a small plot of sand. But there was no shade from the hot sun, and in the winter, it was too cold to even stand outside. Most detainees did not even want their 鈥渂reak.鈥�

鈥淭here is nothing to do but watch TV,鈥� Samuel said. 鈥淚 was very bored, and I couldn鈥檛 sleep. I was always thinking 鈥� thinking about them deporting me. I cried every day; I just wanted to see my family.鈥澛犅�

At night, separated from his wife 鈥� a U.S. citizen 鈥� and his daughter, Carolina, 6, Samuel 鈥� whose name and those of his family members have been changed for this story 鈥� prayed fervently for his loved ones. He asked that God keep his children, who are both U.S. citizens, safe.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽

鈥淚 always dreamt of my family,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 would clutch my pillow and cry, asking God to please reunite me with my family. I asked that God not leave my family without me, because they need me, and I need them.鈥�

$2 a day

Samuel spoke with his wife and children every day, but only because he worked for $2 a day cleaning the toilets at Stewart. This allowed him to pay for the costly phone calls home.聽聽

Working for pennies on the hour is commonplace at Stewart. A class-action lawsuit that the 澳彩开奖 filed in April 2018 revealed that detainees are forced to work for as little as a $1 a day, even if they are sick or unable to work. Those who do not work face solitary confinement or lack of access to basic amenities and phone calls to loved ones, which cost money.

So Samuel worked. He worked because he had to, because he couldn鈥檛 live without a constant connection to his family.聽聽

As Samuel spoke to his children one day, Carolina said, 鈥淧apa, I miss you a lot. I miss you, and I鈥檝e been praying for you.鈥�

This made Samuel weep, and broke his heart.

To make matters worse, Angel鈥檚 symptoms intensified in January, when Samuel was again locked up at Stewart. Letters from therapists testified that Samuel鈥檚 absence in his son鈥檚 life was only amplifying the boy鈥檚 misery and his tendency to act out in school. 聽聽聽

In a letter from South Carolina鈥檚 Department of Mental Health, a therapist detailed the severity of Angel鈥檚 problems.

鈥淎ngel has a hard time expressing his emotions and often has tantrums or acts out angrily . . .聽 ,鈥� the letter stated. 鈥淸He] does not understand why his father is in 鈥榡ail鈥� and was 鈥榯aken away from him鈥� . . .聽 .鈥�

The letter also notes that after a disagreement with his teacher at school, Angel called the school staff 鈥渒idnappers,鈥� and said he wanted to 鈥渃all the police,鈥� so he could be sent to 鈥渏ail鈥� to be with his father. The separation was nearly destroying him.聽

Carolina, who also needed speech therapy, wept each time she spoke to her father on the phone, saying she was sad and in pain. During his detention, Samuel had only one opportunity to see his family face-to-face, and that was through a glass partition, where the family spoke to one another on a telephone for a mere 30 minutes. When they said goodbye, Samuel hung his head and sobbed. He didn鈥檛 know if he would ever see his family again.

But his prayers were answered in March, when SIFI took on his case for bond. 聽聽

Only one in six immigrants who are detained in the Southeast聽have access to legal counsel 鈥斅燼nd without it, their rights are frequently trampled. When they do have an attorney, they are聽10 times聽more likely to win their cases.

SIFI Attorney Matt Boles gathered letters that supported Samuel鈥檚 good character, his morality and his role as a loving and supportive father and husband. The letters came from his previous attorney, along with Samuel鈥檚 wife and his mother-in-law, Hilda. In her letter of support, Hilda explained how difficult life would be for her daughter鈥檚 family should Samuel be sent back to Honduras. 聽聽

In part, Hilda wrote: 鈥淸Samuel] loves his family and dedicates himself to his family one hundred percent. I can attest that he is a good person that I trust blindly. He keeps good friendships . . . is a respectful person [and] believer in God. He is a good human being. He is a good father, husband and friend.鈥澛�

Boles also gathered more letters from mental health specialists who discussed Angel鈥檚 behavioral problems and developmental delays, and how they had worsened since his father was locked up. One therapist wrote that if Samuel were deported, it 鈥渨ill adversely impact [both children鈥檚] development and mental health.鈥�

Another doctor who worked with Angel concluded that 鈥淸Samuel鈥檚] role in his son鈥檚 life cannot be understated.鈥�

鈥業鈥檓 never going back鈥� 聽聽

Samuel with his children

In June, right before Father鈥檚 Day, Samuel waited in a quarantined unit as Boles argued Samuel鈥檚 case for bond in court. Samuel received the news that his bond had been granted via video, which left him speechless.

鈥淚 thought, 鈥業 can be with my children again!鈥� he said, recalling the moment through tears. 鈥淎ll that time locked up, and now I was free. I couldn鈥檛 believe it. I was incredibly happy. It was a special day.鈥�

After leaving Stewart, Samuel was met with hugs, smiles and cheers from the family he had missed so deeply. 聽聽

鈥淧apa鈥檚 here! Papa鈥檚 here!鈥� his children called.

Samuel smiled genuinely from ear to ear.

But Angel was worried his father would be taken away again. Samuel reassured him, saying, 鈥淚鈥檓 not going back. I鈥檓 never going back.鈥澛犅犅�

Back at home, Samuel says he still thinks of his time at Stewart and cries. But the tears come when he looks at his children, who sit next to him on the sofa while the family watches TV together.聽

鈥淚 am so happy to be reunited with my children,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hank you, SIFI, for giving me a second chance.鈥�

Photo by聽John Moore/Getty Images