TUCSON – The group gathers in the front room of the mobile home, trying to find the best spot to hide the Bluetooth trackers that would let friends and family know where they are. Yarlidis and her four children, ages 6 months to 9, are preparing to turn themselves in to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to begin their self-deportation journey. Nine-year-old Emily is not only scared about what the next days will bring — she’s scared of being disappeared to a place no one can find them.
It is Dec. 1, and the family is organizing, packing and readying themselves to show up at an ICE office on the south side of Tucson early the next morning.
Yarlidis suggests slipping one of the tracking devices onto her daughter Emily’s keychain. Or maybe they can sew it into 5-year-old Ian Samuel’s pants pocket, somewhere less visible, somewhere safer…