Where’s my daddy? When is mommy coming? These are the questions most often asked by the 20 minors who were separated from their parents last Friday when a poultry farm in Arkansas was raided and 119 immigrants with false documents were detained. Of those, 115 were of Mexican origin and were deported.

“The children are now under the good care of their relatives either here or in Texas, but they miss their parents. It’s difficult to explain to them and make them understand the painful situation that they are encountering,” commented the Rev. Rudy Gutierrez in a phone interview with Hoy. Gutierrez is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Arkadelphia in Arkansas, which is helping the affected families in cooperation with the community, the local authorities, and Mexican diplomats.

“Essentially, around 100 children – whose ages range from 3 months to 12 years – were the ones indirectly harmed by the operation. In the majority of the cases, (55), one of the parents faced deportation,” said Gutierrez.

“There are women with children who were left homeless because the head of the household, the one in charge of bringing home the money and paying the bills, was deported,” he added. “If it’s the mother that was deported, emotionally the infants are devastated. All they ask is when they’ll be able to see their mother again,” explained the pastor, adding that 10 minors are now reunited with their parents in Mexico.

“The girl is always sad and crying; she was very attached to her mother,” said Guadalupe Chavelas, who now is in charge of her nephew and niece, 12-year-old Edgar and 9-year-old Diana Chavelas Garcia, since her sister-in-law Lorena was deported. “She is thinking about trying to cross the border again because the children were born here and she wants them to continue studying.”

“All of this has been very regrettable. I believe that not only the Mexican families lost out but also the country and the employers. These workers are productive and come to make an honest living,” commented Eduardo Rea, Mexican consul for legal affairs in Dallas, Texas.

The pain of these families, however, has served to unite the community. “The response has been marvelous. Those who came to bring donations ranged from Anglo-Saxons and African-Americans to police officers.” They have brought them fresh milk, cereal, clothes and school supplies,” said pastor Gutierrez.

Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee expressed to the local press that he would do everything possible to guarantee the “well-being of these children.”