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A 13-year-old girl hung herself because her dad couldn’t make it across the border. It was his 3rd try; she had lost all hope. w @cegoldbaum nytimes.com/2019/07/17/us/… via @NYTimes
Heydi's dad had left her in Honduras to be raised by grandparents and come to work in the U.S. But when his father was gunned down by gangs, Manuel returned to Honduras. He then sent his daughter to N.Y. for safety. She won asylum. But when he tried at the border, he was denied.
The father was deported to Honduras in 2016. He tried to cross into the U.S. again in 2017, only to be detained and deported again. Heyd, living with aunts, learned English and adjusted to life in America. But she begged her dad to join her.
Heydi, whose mother had left her when she was 2 months old, felt orphaned without her dad, she said. Manuel promised the 6th grader he would be in the U.S. in time for her 15th bday, to celebrate her quinceanera. But her deepening sadness led him to try crossing again in June.
But Manuel was arrested by Border Patrol and sent to detention in Texas. Days, weeks and then more than a month passed. Heydi became increasingly hopeless. She saw on the news that migrant families were being released, not single adults like dad. How would they ever be together?
On July 3, she took a phone-charging cable, fashioned it into a noose and tried to end her life. Her aunts found a lawyer to help release Manuel. He arrived in N.Y., in time to say goodbye. Brain dead, Heydi never knew he was by her side. Read the story. nytimes.com/2019/07/17/us/…
