‘My son is traumatized, Ever’: Undocumented mom cries after her son refuses to hug her

An undocumented immigrant woman tried in vain to get a long-awaited hug from her son after their family was reunited, but the boy kept crawling away from her.

Heartbreaking footage from an American Civil Liberties Union video that was recently posted on the human rights advocacy group’s Instagram account shows the sad moment when Mrs. Reyes-Mejia breaks down in tears while she tries to hug her three-year-old son, who keeps putting up a fight.

‘My love, I am your mommy, papi. I am your mommy,’ she said before Sammy, as the boy is named in the ACLU report to protect his identity, manages to get out of his mothers embrace when the family of four was reunited at George Bush International Airport in Houston on  July 14 after they had been detained and separated by the United States Customs and Immigration Enforcement.

Mrs. Reyes-Mejia breaks down in tears when her son, identified as Sammy to protect his identity, refused to hug her after they were reunited after being detained by ICE

Mrs. Reyes-Mejia breaks down in tears when her son, identified as Sammy to protect his identity, refused to hug her after they were reunited after being detained by ICE

Ever, Sammy's dad, holds on to his five-month-old daughter, who he had not seen since April when he left Honduras to seek asylum in the United States

Ever, Sammy’s dad, holds on to his five-month-old daughter, who he had not seen since April when he left Honduras to seek asylum in the United States

As the little boy crawls away, the distraught mother questions her husband, Ever, why their son was rejecting on the first day the family was being reunited after it split up earlier in the year and fled the on-going violence Honduras for the United States to seek asylum.

‘Ever, what’s wrong with my son?’ Mrs. Reyes-Mejia says amidst tears before her husband, who is seen hugging his infant daughter, helps her up.

The saddened mom then walks after a crawling Sammy, telling him, ‘papi, I came for you my love. What happened? Papi come with me. I came for you. My son is traumatized, Ever.’

A teary-eyed mother struggles to hug her son, who keeps trying to escape her arms at Geroge Bush International Airport in Houston

A teary-eyed mother struggles to hug her son, who keeps trying to escape her arms at Geroge Bush International Airport in Houston

Mrs. Reyes-Mejia cries as she wants to know why her son does not want to acknowledge her after the family is reunited after they arrived in the US and were detained by ICE

Mrs. Reyes-Mejia cries as she wants to know why her son does not want to acknowledge her after the family is reunited after they arrived in the US and were detained by ICE

Eventually, Sammy relented and hugged his mother for the first time since he and his father left Honduras in April 2018. 

Ever and Sammy made it to the US border station at McCallen Bridge in Texas where customs officials detained them. 

While in detention, Ever was told he was required to complete legal documents before an immigration judge. The dad asked if he could wake up his sleeping son but officials told him it wasn’t necessary. Upon coming back, his son was gone, on his way to an agency in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where undocumented immigrant children are being held and separated from their families.

Mrs. Reyes-Mejia made it to the US in May and was also detained, but never separated for her daughter.

An emotional moment as Ever Reyes-Mejia (left) hugs his five-month-old daughter while his wife tries to hold back tears after her son refuses to hug her

An emotional moment as Ever Reyes-Mejia (left) hugs his five-month-old daughter while his wife tries to hold back tears after her son refuses to hug her

Sammy is reunited with his mother but kept crawling away from her as she tried to hug him

Sammy is reunited with his mother but kept crawling away from her as she tried to hug him

Ever Reyes-Mejia looks on as his wife holds back tear in a hallway at the airport

Ever Reyes-Mejia looks on as his wife holds back tear in a hallway at the airport

During their time of separation, Sammy wouldn’t talk to his dad each time officials opened up a line of communication before father and son were reunited on July 10 at an ICE center in Grand Rapids.

Shortly thereafter, they flew to Houston where the viral video captured the moment when then the family of four finally met up.

The U.S. government separated more than 2,500 children from their parents this year as the Trump administration adopted a “zero-tolerance” policy requiring anyone who crossed the border illegally to be prosecuted. That resulted in parents who had to go to federal court to face criminal misdemeanor charges of illegal entry to be separated from their children, often for months.

A federal judge overseeing a lawsuit against the government gave authorities until July 26 to reunite all families, although over 300 parents who were deported to their home countries have yet to be reunited with their children.

According to the ACLU, as of August 23, 528 immigrant children still remain in government custody.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk