Woman In Hyannis Reunited With Son After Separation

HYANNIS, MA – A Brazilian national living in Hyannis has been reunited with her son after she was detained by immigration authorities and separated from him for a month. On Thursday a federal judge in Chicago ordered the release of Lidia Souza's son, Diogo, from a government shelter.

According to CBS, Souza delivered a message to President Trump through a translator: "Don't do this to the children."

Souza was detained May 30 after crossing the southwest border, which Border Patrol argued was not an official port of entry. She pleaded guilty to illegal entry and sentenced to time served; meanwhile Diogo was sent to a shelter in Chicago.

Authorities determined the 27-year-old asylum seeker to have a credible fear of persecution if she returned to Brazil, the New York Times previously reported. She was allowed to move in with relatives in Massachusetts.

Despite ending the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy under which parents and their children were separated, the government is still holding around 2,000 children. Many families say they do not know how to find their children, according to CBS.

See Also: Woman In Hyannis Suing Feds To Get Son Back After Separation

The Department of Homeland Security says a "well coordinated" process between Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and the HHS' Office of Refugee Resettlement is in place for reunification, according to the agency's website.

ICE facilities post information advising detained parents who are trying to locate or communicate with a child in HHS custody to call the Detention Reporting and Information Line for assistance, which is staffed by operations Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., the DHS website states. Information provided to call operators is forwarded to the HHS, which works alongside ICE to identify where a child is located, verify the parent-child relationship and establish regular communication and possible removal coordination.

Souza had not seen Diogo in nearly a month when attorneys Jesse Bless and Jeff Goldman filed suit on her behalf in U.S. Federal Court to push for Diogo's release. They argued the child was unlawfully seized and withheld from his mother, who was wrongfully held for illegal entry.

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