Fatoumata happily reunited with her two children
Fatoumata (Fatima) was referred to IWC by a border organization after being hospitalized while in detention. She has two young children — a toddler and an infant. While Fatima was in the hospital, her children were placed in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). When she returned to the detention center, she was told that her children were now in ORR care and that it was her responsibility to contact the placement agency to reunite with them.
Fatima was later transferred from the detention facility to a border nonprofit organization. However, because her primary language was French, the staff there were unable to communicate with or effectively assist her. Fatima spent days crying uncontrollably, desperate to see her children again.
When IWC was contacted for help, we immediately stepped in. Fatima was placed in a hotel for a week while IWC staff and volunteers worked to locate her children and connect with the ORR program. We were able to secure an immigration attorney for Fatima and also find a separate attorney to represent her children. At that time, the children were placed in a San Antonio home where no one spoke their primary language. The mother was only able to see her children through brief video calls, which were limited due to the children’s short attention spans.
One Friday evening, the ORR agency called our Hospitality Coordinator to inform her that the children would be released to their mother. Our Hospitality Coordinator and volunteers quickly coordinated the reunion. Once the children were released, the family stayed with an IWC volunteer who could provide a nurturing family setting while ORR assessed the housing arrangement.
A month later, the family was able to move into Roca de Refugio, where they continue to receive support and case management from IWC.
