Marysville family 'in fear' as Honduran mom faces deportation, seeks asylum in US
MARYSVILLE, Wash. – “It’s very sad” is how Bernarda Pineda describes the crisis at the border to her daughter Sherly Alvarado.
Twelve years ago, Bernarda was at the southern border, crossing the Rio Grande with 2-year-old Sherly in her arms.
Pineda fled from Honduras and embarked on a three-day trip to Mexico, where she stayed for a month before crossing the Rio Grande into Texas.
Pineda says she fled the violence in Honduras to give Sherly a better life in America.
Now at 15, Alvarado like any other teenager.
“I love to spend time with my friends, I like to play volleyball,” said Sherly Alvarado.
She says this country is all she knows but her mother’s actions have made life tough sometimes.
“I don’t like how I had been in this situation. Throughout the whole immigration process I would go to the hearings for her, I would help her translate what they’re saying to her,” said Alvarado.
Her mother faced deportation back in March. After finding a lawyer, she is now in the process of filing for asylum.
“We don’t deserve to live in fear of what will happen to us,” said Alvarado.
She says it’s hard to see her mother wear an ankle bracelet and have ICE check in on Pineda weekly.
“This process of what my mom is going through is traumatic enough, and I’m not even separated from her, I’m still with her,” said Alvarado.
She says life in America may feel safe, but she lives in constant fear that she may still be torn apart from her mother.
"I don’t want to lose her,” Alvarado said in tears. “She’s all I have, I don’t want anything to happen to her. Right now, I’m younger but something might happen to me, too."
Alvarado, who has two younger sisters, says as much as she worries about the future as long as her mother is by her side, they can get through anything together as a family.