A project of the National Center for Youth Law, Acacia Center for Justice, Loyola University Chicago IHRC, and The Door
In Our Voices
Seven children. Seven windows into what prolonged ORR detention feels like.
These seven legal declarations were written for courts. But before they were exhibits, they were children telling adults what happened to them, how it made them feel, and where they wanted to be.
Christian
01
8 years old · Pseudonym
From the declaration
“It’s even harder being detained again than it was the first time. I miss my mom a lot. I was crying a lot in the beginning because I missed my mom so much. I didn’t want to live with people that I didn’t know. And it was hard to talk to the people taking care of me, because I did not speak English that well and they did not speak Spanish. They were nice, but they did not know anything about me. They didn’t know that my favorite food is pizza, or that I like super-cars, or that I like drawing.”
“There is nothing that I want more than to live with my sister. I gave birth to my baby girl in February and being separated from my family during this time, with a new baby, has been really hard for me.”
“I talk to my mom every day on the phone from the shelter. If I imagine arriving at her house, and opening the door, the first thing I am going to do is hug her. I am going to hug her for a really long time. Then I just want to talk to her, about anything. I just want to talk and be together again.”
“It makes sense that the government would have to have some requirements, so kids are safe. But now it is too many, and instead of helping and protecting us, the requirements are hurting us. It is wrong to make kids live in government shelters for so much time. It is not good for us mentally.”
“I don’t understand why I was detained again. In November 2025, I was out with a friend in his car and the Border Patrol stopped us and asked for our identification. I tried to tell them that I had already been released from government custody to live with my dad, but they didn’t care.”
“What happened to me is unfair and makes no sense. I don’t understand why the government separated me from my family and prevented me from continuing my education when I had no problems living with my father. I do not want this to happen to any other kid.”
“I don’t want to be here, but there is nothing I can do. Crying won’t do anything. We’re just stuck. My mom should not have to have all these different documents to get me out, especially because I was already living with her. She is my mom and I am her son. She is better at taking care of me.”
Due process is not an abstraction. Every day a child is detained matters. It determines whether childhood happens with strangers and behind locked doors or at home with family, friends, school, and freedom.
