The current effort to carry out mass deportations in the U.S. has been seen as unprecedented by some. The call for immigration reform has persisted for decades and includes voices from both sides of the political aisle.
Often, those most impacted by immigration policies created in Washington are left out of the discussion or debate. It’s extremely rare to hear the voices of children caught up in the crackdown, in particular.
Now, a new memoir provides some insight into the five months D. Esperanza spent at the Tornillo detention facility in El Paso when he was fourteen. That’s where Gerardo Iván Morales met the teen while providing support at the tent facility. Together they co-wrote the book “Detained: A Boy’s Journal of Survival and Resilience.”
They spoke to the Texas Standard – Esperanza in Spanish with Morales translating – about the conditions in the detention center and how they hope Esparanza’s story will resonate. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Well, let’s start with D. Tell us what was it like in the Tornillo holding camp. Cuéntanos cómo era tu vida ahí en Tornillo.
Esperanza: Puedo hacer una comparación de que le puedes preguntar a una persona que estuvo en prisión. Y puedo decir que fue igual. Solo que en este caso éramos niños.
Gerardo Iván Morales: I can do a comparison if you were to ask somebody that had been locked up in prison, and I can say that it was the same. Just in this case, we were children.
Esperanza: Nos trataron como tales, como ellos nos miraban, como criminales.
Gerardo Iván Morales: They treated us as if we were criminals.
Esperanza: Nos amenazaban con ser deportados, si jugábamos, si hablábamos. Si simplemente éramos niños.
Gerardo Iván Morales: They would threaten us that we would be reported and deported. If we talked, if we played together, if we were just simply being kids.
Esperanza: A veces necesitábamos salir, ir al baño o necesitábamos ver al doctor. Nos dolía algo. Ellos nos decían: “No. Cállate o si no, serás deportado”.
Gerardo Iván Morales: Sometimes we would need to leave the tent to either use the restroom or because we weren’t feeling well. We needed to go see medical and they would tell us “No, be quiet or you will get deported.”
Gracias. So, Iván, how did you meet D.?
Gerardo Iván Morales: I had the honor and privilege of meeting D. Esperanza inside of the Tornillo Detention Center.
I spent six months inside of a detention center as an immigrant myself and as a DACA recipient. I am very passionate about immigration and human rights. And when that summer – in 2018, where the news was covering reports of kids in cages and the horrific family separations – as soon as I saw that there was a Texas tent city, I needed to figure out what I needed to do so I could be there and provide aid for my immigrant community.
Just to understand – were you volunteering or did you happen to work at the facility?
Gerardo Iván Morales: I worked at the facility. So when I found out that they were detaining children, I did my research on how I could get involved.
The Office of Refugee and Resettlement partners with Health and Human Services, and they contract a nonprofit organization to house these children while they’re being detained. And so I found out that they do contracting agencies to hire to be with direct care with the children. And so, I was a direct care worker as an emergency reservist for 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
My experience, I compare it to the foster care system where we know it’s a very broken system. We know there’s negligence, but if you could be that one social worker that could change the life of a child there, even save the life of a child, then it’s worth it.
And so for me, I never questioned my decision to be there because I needed to be there directly with these children – to be an advocate and to provide that aid for anything and stand up for any injustices that I saw.
So for D, why did you want to keep a diary both when you set off for the U.S. and migrated north and later when you were detained. ¿Por qué escribiste tu diario cuando emigraste y después cuando estuviste encerrado en Tornillo? Y si quieres agregar por qué compartir esta experiencia.
Esperanza: Escribí en el centro porque fue la única manera que tuve para liberarme, fue la única manera que tuve para poder sacar todo lo que yo tenía dentro.
Gerardo Iván Morales: I wrote while being detained because it was the only way for me to free myself, to liberate what I was feeling inside. It was a way for me to process my emotion.
Esperanza: Tenía una cantidad enorme de estrés ahí adentro, siendo un niño de 13 años. Una cantidad de miedo, de inseguridad…
Gerardo Iván Morales: I had a huge fear of being there. I had an incredible fear of being detained at only 13 years old.
Esperanza: Mucha confusión por qué las personas me trataban así.
Gerardo Iván Morales: A lot of confusion on why people were treating me this way.
Esperanza: Escribir para mí fue una forma de liberación.
Gerardo Iván Morales: Writing for me was a way of liberation.
Esperanza: Y mostrárselo a Iván fue tan especial para mí.
Gerardo Iván Morales: And showing it to Iván was extremely special for me.
Esperanza: Una persona que nos ayudó mucho, a todos los niños allí adentro.
Gerardo Iván Morales: A person who helped us while being detained, helped all the children while being detained.
Esperanza: Y puedo llegar a decir que fue Iván el que me motivó a seguir escribiendo más.
Gerardo Iván Morales: And I can honestly say that Ivan was the one who encouraged and motivated me to continue writing more.
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Muchísimas gracias. So Iván, what has writing this book meant for you and can you talk about some reaction? I know it hasn’t been out that long, but what is the reaction you’re getting?
Gerardo Iván Morales: My role in this project, as the co-author, I only have a note at the end of “Detained.”
So, “Detained” is the first-ever memoir written by a child. D. Esperanza wrote this entire story inside his composition notebook and “Detained: A Boy’s Journal of Survival and Resilience” is a direct English translation of that entire story.
And so you will meet me as a character when D. Esperanza meets me and writes about it. I am a witness. I was there with him. I was there while he was being detained throughout his five months.
This is truly D. Esperanza’s entire story. You do get an epilogue which he wrote now as an adult, which catches you up on where he is currently in his life. But I really truly saw my role in this as just an advocate and somebody who would just navigate this entire publishing process and figure out how we can get this story published.
Well, finally, for D., what message do you have for other children or teens coping with this situation, including family separation during an immigration crackdown? ¿Qué mensaje tienes para otros niños o adolescentes que enfrentan este tipo de situación?
Esperanza: Lo que me mantuvo firme a mí fue la esperanza.
Gerardo Iván Morales: What maintained me firm there was hope.
Esperanza: Fue la fe.
Gerardo Iván Morales: It was faith.
Esperanza: Y sobre todo la unión.
Gerardo Iván Morales: And most importantly, unity.
Esperanza: La unión que llegas a formar con los demás niños ahí adentro.
Gerardo Iván Morales: The unity that you form with the other children that are also detained.
Esperanza: Porque ellos se convierten en tu familia.
Gerardo Iván Morales: Because they become your family.
Esperanza:Nunca perder la fe y siempre tener esperanza.
Gerardo Iván Morales: Never lose your faith and always have hope.
