I didn’t use to think much about our country’s immigration system. But then I fell in love with Michael.
He was my first great love. He had a special energy, and I felt really safe with him. My mom loved him like a son. Our nightmare began when he took a trip home to visit family in Honduras and was detained at the border.
Watch a video about our story:
I never thought I would have to deal with anything like what I saw Michael go through in immigration detention. I couldn’t make heads nor tails of where he was or what was going on. It cost a lot of money for Michael to call me, and when he did, the stories he told were horrible. They didn’t get to exercise, the food was rotten and sometimes green, and he couldn’t see a doctor when he was sick. The guards told the detainees they were worthless and they should “go back home.” He was put in solitary confinement for nothing, sometimes for several days at a time. After a few months, he told me he couldn’t remember what color even looked like.
Meeting Michael changed my life forever. Now every time I see someone who might be an immigrant, I wonder what their story is. What happened to him also made me realize that our government is seriously mistreating thousands of people who come to this country to make a better life. What Michael went through in immigration detention is not how the American justice system is supposed to treat people.
Tell the U.S. House of Representatives that immigration reform must respect human rights: immigrantjustice.org/REFORM
We have the power to change this system, and the time is now. The U.S. House of Representatives is stalling progress on passing humane immigration reform, but families like mine continue to suffer. Americans must demand that immigration reform address the gross injustices and human rights violations taking place in our detention and deportation system.
Michele Mancuso lives and works in Chicago and speaks with Michael on a nearly daily basis.
Rethink Immigration is a blog series in which National Immigrant Justice Center staff, clients, and volunteers share their unique perspectives and specific recommendations on what Congress and the Obama administration must include in comprehensive immigration reform to create an inclusive, fair, and humane immigration system.