RAICESVerified account

Our first story is from a man who traveled here with his son. In his words, he tells us how he got across the border and what happened when he was first detained by CBP.

“I left the shelter to see what was around and saw that the river was close by. I noticed that there was a group of people by the river... I crossed the border through the river, but the water only came up to my waist. I carried my son so that he wouldn’t get wet. “

“Halfway through the river, there was a small island or sandbar. We stopped there. There were CBP agents standing on the bank of the river on the U.S. side. When we got to land, we waited for a little bit and the CBP agents asked us if we had any phones or lighters."

"Everyone was carrying a cell phone, so CBP took those items from us and took them to the hielera, where they were placed in little bags. We kept our documents. We stayed there for about ten minutes, and then they had buses ready for us to take us to the hielera.”

“The agents told us that we’d only be able to keep one piece of clothing on top and bottom. That day was extremely cold, but because they asked us to only keep one piece of clothing, I had to take off my three shirts and only kept the sweatshirt. The same happened with my son.“

"They asked us to do the same with our pants. I had swimming trunks underneath my pants, so I had to take them off and only keep my pants. I had to do this in front of everyone, including women and children." #StoriesFromKarnes

“our pants were significantly wet so we were standing out in the cold, having to change in front of everyone (men and women), and then see CBP throw our extra clothes in the garbage. My son was terrified; he didn’t know what was happening to us.”

“We stood in line, in the cold, for about 35 mins as everyone stripped down to just 1 item of clothing on top & bottom; it felt eternal. I felt like I was being tortured psychologically. Little babies were crying because they could only keep 1 piece of clothing out in the cold.”

“We entered the hielera and the temperature was just as bad as the outside. The groups began to be separated, but I was lucky to be with my son. Families were separated. but single parents with children were not separated.” #FamiliesBelongTogether

“My son and I were still hungry. He was able to get a juice box, but the adults like me didn’t get anything to drink. They didn’t give anyone water. I never saw a place to get water while I was in the hielera. I didn’t drink any during the twenty-four hours I spent there.”

“The place was extremely cold, my son couldn’t take the frigid temperatures of the place anymore. We were only given one blanket per person. We asked for another blanket to put on the ground for the kids, but they refused. A person can’t sleep in those conditions.”

“At night, I slept on the cold concrete floor with my son. My son and I couldn’t sleep. The lights never went off; it was almost as if the day never ended. We were afraid that if we asked the officers to turn the lights off, we would get in trouble.”