Jeremy* y su hija de 11 años salieron huyendo de Honduras hace casi un año. Él ha estado a un lado de su hija desde sus cero meses, como lo describe él. Es un padre joven que nunca se ha rendido ante la adversidad, y no duda en mostrarle a su hija lo mucho que la ama. 

Jeremy y su hija fueron puestos bajo el programa de MPP, describió la experiencia con una sola palabra: “decepcionado”. Las autoridades migratorias los detuvieron y lo interrogaron por seis días sobre su verdadero parentesco con su hija. Le hicieron dos exámenes de ADN y lo hicieron firmar un documento que podría permitirles llevarlo a prisión por diez años si no estaba siendo honesto. “Me la querían quitar. Mi hija es mía. No puedo negar a mi hija,” comentó Jeremy. Su hija había dejado de comer y no paraba de llorar por miedo de ser separada de su padre. El segundo examen de ADN, resultó confirmar lo que Jeremy había dicho en el transcurso de los seis días – la niña si era su hija. 

Ellos llevan diez meses en Cd. Juárez y Jeremy ha notado cambios en su hija, “triste y estresada, pero la motivo constantemente. Le digo que no podemos bajar la guardia.” Añadió: “Esta lucha migratoria ha sido difícil para nosotros. Le digo que no podemos darnos por vencidos. Nuestra fe es luchar. Sea lo que sea, tenemos que seguir adelante por su bien estar y futuro.” 

Together, we fight

Jeremy* and his 11-year-old daughter fled Honduras almost a year ago. He has been by his daughter’s side since she was born, as he describes it. He is a young father that has never given up despite all the adversity and does not hesitate to demonstrate his love for his daughter. 

Jeremy and his daughter were put under the MPP program. He described the experience in a single word: “Disappointed.” Immigration officials interrogated him for six days about his relationship with his daughter. They made him take DNA tests and sign a document that could send him to jail for 10 years if he was not being honest. “They wanted to take her away from me. My daughter is mine. No one can deny me my daughter,” Jeremy said. His daughter had stopped eating and could not stop crying because she was afraid to be separated from her father. The second DNA test confirmed what Jeremy had kept trying to demonstrate for six days -- the girl was his daughter. 

They have been in Ciudad Juarez for ten months and Jeremy has noticed changes in his daughter. He said, “she is sad and stressed but I give her words of encouragement, often. I tell her that we can’t let our guard down.” He added, “this migratory struggle has been difficult for us. I tell her that we cannot give up. Our faith is to keep fighting. Whatever happens, we have to keep moving forward for her own well-being and her future.”  

*using pseudonyms to protect identity