Our Students In Jail. Read Their Letters. Demand Their Release!
From Yefri Sorto Hernández
Wildin Acosta, Yefri Sorto Hernández and Pedro Salmerón were detained by agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on their way to school. Their teachers, school staff, friends and families are calling for their release. In their own words they share what it is like to be behind bars.
I am Pedro Arturo Salmerón Salmerón. I live in Charlotte, North Carolina and I am a student of Vance High School.
I find myself detained in a detention facility called CCA Stewart Detention Center and it is one of the worst detention [centers] in the country, because of the treatment and environment of detention.
The way of life in the detention center is inadequate and really uncomfortable. The food on many occasions is bad and recreation is really insufficient.
At the detention center, one can see disappointment and despair of continued detention on the faces of the detained. The administration of this place is bad and the superiors do not improve the quality of it.
My dream always is to make it as a musician. For this, I have dedicated the majority of my life to it, the long and hard study of it, so that I know how to play multiple instruments.
In addition, I have studied many other topic areas such as information, astronomy, medicine, engineering and literature. These are the studies that at times I have wanted to study professionally and at times I would feel proud of.
For me, the United States of America represents a grand nation and for me, it is a one of the best economically, safety-wise, efficiency-wise and intellectually. The opportunities here are big and here one is able to achieve in the areas that you want, and in contrast to my country of origin, the U.S. represents my future and the family.
The city of Charlotte, North Carolina where I live is for me, my home. And the tranquility of this place is very gratifying. The people are nice and there are many places to discover. The environment is soothing and the work is abundant. The city is my place and [the place] of my family.
My only request is to be free and to be able to live in Charlotte, North Carolina. I do not want to be deported to my country. I have already suffered from these aggressive criminals and lost family members because of them. These are only some of my fears of returning.
Please, I need to be free, I am not a bad person, I don’t deserve to be here incarcerated. I need assistance to leave because like I said before, I am not able to return and my future is here. I ask for compassion, because I consider myself a humble person of good deeds and thoughts.
Hello everyone:
I want to ask for your help to see if they are able to release me so that I can leave and fight my case outside [of jail] because the conditions that one finds here are very difficult. Especially for me who has never been imprisoned, it is very hard because here there is nothing good to do, other than think about my family, [about if] they are good or what they will do, waiting for when I can go back to embrace them again.
There are very sad moments for one. Even the tears come when I remember that I have been separated from my parents for 15 years and now that we have been reunited, they want us to go back to being separated. This is a very hard blow for my family and me. Only God knows how much I have cried in this place.
There are days that my mind is not on this planet, my mind goes flying. I do not remember anything and amongst everything, there is the same thought that I do not want to be deported. I do not want to know anything about my country or my life for these moment put me in a really bad place in my mind. The only thing I see is how the days pass and I am unable to be with my parents and moreover waiting for that special day when I can return to them and feel the love of my parents.
Her brother Yefri was detained by @ICEgov waiting for the school bus, he loves soccer, she misses him. #freenc6 pic.twitter.com/2M61DX5tzT— Lily Eskelsen García (@Lily_NEA) April 20, 2016
My mind cannot rest day and night thinking about the place that I am in. There are days that I pass just lying down because I feel depressed until my friends tell me that I should not be worried and that I should get up. But this is difficult. They tell me that I could become crazy from all this thinking about my family. But I cannot stop asking Continue Reading: Our Students In Jail. Read Their Letters. Demand Their Release! - Lily's Blackboard: