Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch

My client, Adela Nohemy Castellanos, was detained just weeks after giving birth to her baby boy. Today, she remains detained at the Dilley Detention Center alongside her 10-year-old daughter, Sofia, while her newborn and two other young children are separated from her.

For much of her detention, Adela was denied access to a breast pump, forcing her to express milk by hand while experiencing significant pain. She was eventually provided a pump around October 13, but only after weeks without one. She has also suffered postpartum complications without receiving the medical care she needs.

Her 10-year-old daughter is struggling emotionally and refusing to eat.

Meanwhile, Adela’s U.S. citizen husband is caring for their three children at home. Her 4-year-old celebrated a birthday without her. Her 6-year-old carries around Adela’s immigration A-number, memorizing and repeating it as a way to feel closer to her.

To her children, that number represents their mother. To the government, it is another number in the immigration detention system.

This is the human cost of immigration detention policies that separate families, confine children, and leave vulnerable mothers without adequate medical care.

Adela and her children deserve to be together. Her story deserves our attention, and families experiencing similar circumstances deserve meaningful protections.

Please help me share Adela’s story.

Contact your representatives demanding the end to family detention, and make a plan to vote.

The polls are open in Austin this weekend from 7:00AM to 7:00PM.