Rogelio is undocumented, living in the US, and originally from Guatemala.
This is the story of how he ended up in immigrant detention during the pandemic.
Rogelio has been in the US since 2013. He spent his first three years in the country working at pizzerias and restaurants; now he works in construction.
“I like to spend time with my family and study English — that’s my hobby.”
Rogelio was detained when his wife was six months pregnant with their first child.
At the Strafford County Department of Corrections in New Hampshire, he was unable to go outside, denied basic medical care, and threatened by ICE staff. concordmonitor.com/Strafford-Coun…
ICE detention conditions have long been horrendous, but Rogelio found that they worsened during the pandemic.
“I wouldn’t wish detention on my worst enemy because it truly is horrible. Some of the officers were very kind, but others just mess with you.” aclu.org/blog/prisoners…
“We saw the news about the virus and started getting worried, because they were still bringing people in off the streets. We got scared when some people inside started having dry coughs. We were in bunk beds, all together, and couldn’t keep distance.” aclu.org/news/immigrant…
While confusion and fear spread alongside the virus, Rogelio also struggled with missing the birth of his first child.
He was finally released when the baby was about two weeks old, but he’ll never get back the opportunity to be present at his child’s birth.
Rogelio is one of the 70,000 people who have been detained during this pandemic.
You can read more about his story and those of the people we profiled here. aclu.org/immigrantstori…
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