Dickerson’s NY Times article focuses on the story of a Guatemalan family who tried to find a better life in the United States but faced President Trump’s anti-immigration policies that divided mother and son. Even when politics itself has come to an end, the story of Ms. Peren and her son is not over. Many families have been in a similar situation, and not all are as lucky as Peren, who was able to find refuge in a wealthy family’s home in Brooklyn (Dickerson). Now the situation is even more difficult, as many such volunteer groups lack the resources to help all those in need.
This family’s history began in their native Guatemala, where living conditions were systematically deteriorating for several years. By 2015, a significant increase in crime and the influence of gangsters trying to knock money out of ordinary people added to the severity of everyday life (Dickerson). Not wanting to become a victim of such criminal elements, the woman, together with her son, tried to escape from the terrible fate to the north, to the border with the United States. Unfortunately, they did not yet know about the news regarding the separation of families at the border, so they fell victim to Trump’s new policy. The border patrol agents who captured them placed the family in separate cells. Waking up in the morning, Ms. Peren discovered her son was missing, and after escaping one nightmare, she found herself in another.
Yovany, her son, was transferred to a refuge in Arizona, where he spent nine months. According to the boy, it was the saddest place he had ever been (Dickerson). Luckily for him, however, he was released and adopted into a foster home in Texas who treated him surprisingly well. Simultaneously, the mother herself, seven months after the separation, agreed to deportation, believing that it would be easier for her to fight for her rights in freedom. Fortunately for her, in 2019, she ran into a family of Indian-born human rights activists who helped her move to New York and then move her son there.
Despite being reunited 26 months later, rebuilding the mother-son relationship was not an easy task. Each of them has changed during this time, falling under the public’s influence and suffering from Trump’s policies. However, despite the difficulties with adaptation and finding a job, their lives gradually improve, although the relationship cannot be called the same.
Work Cited
Dickerson, Caitlin. “Three Years After Family Separation, Her Son Is Back. But Her Life Is Not.”New York Times, 2020.