The 9-year-old stood just feet away with her mom and baby brother, crying and slamming her fist against the wall, as federal immigration agents seized her father earlier this month after a routine court hearing in Manhattan.
In the days that followed, the fourth grader from Venezuela was too bereft to return to school.
“I told her to get up to go to school, and she would tell me, ‘Mami, I feel very tired,’” said the girl’s mom, who asked not to use their names for fear of being targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. The girl, who receives medical treatment for epilepsy, broke down in tears so frequently her mom fears it triggered her seizures…