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Heartbreaking Video Shows Immigrant Mom Realize Her Detained 3-Year-Old Son Doesn’t Remember Her

"What's wrong with my son?" she tearfully asked as the child pulled away from her.

A heartbreaking video of a Honduran woman realizing her 3-year-old son, who was detained at the border, does not remember her has reminded people about the devastating impact of Trump’s no-tolerance policy.

In the video released by the ACLU,  Mrs. Reyes-Mejia (a pseudonymous name for the sake of safety) holds her son after they were separated for three and a half months. While the Honduran native tries to embrace her son, the child squirms and pushes her away.

"My love, I'm your mommy," Reyes-Mejia begs.

Although the mother is emotionally hugging her son, the boy does not make eye contact and appears incredibly uncomfortable with the woman. 

"What's wrong with my son?" she asks her husband. "My son is traumatized."

As the ACLU report accompanying the video explains, the Reyes-Mejia family were seeking asylum in the U.S. to escape the violent crime in Honduras. Although they made it clear at the border that they were seeking asylum, they were manipulated and separated.

The father of the child was told at the border that he could briefly leave his son alone at a detention facility while he completed some paperwork. However, upon his return, he noticed his son was nowhere to be found. It turned out that the 3-year-old was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who shipped him to foster care in Michigan.

After the family separation policy was nixed, the Reyes-Mejia family was given priority to be reunited due to the child’s age. According to mental health experts, the child’s distance response to his mother is a directly attributed to the "traumatic psychological injury" associated with the family separation, reported Newsweek.

As of Thursday, the ACLU says, 528 migrant children remain separated from their families in federal custody. 

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