“They treated us worse than criminals. They treated us like animals,” Samuel said of the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia where he was held after his arrest for driving without a license. “We are human too. I came here to work, not to cause problems.” At the facility, Samuel and his fellow detainees were subjected to uncomfortably cold temperatures (according to Samuel, at least one man died from the cold and many more became ill); burning hot showers but no soap; insufficient access to water; and were forced to wear dirty, smelly clothes. The food—which detainees had to pay for themselves and which most couldn’t afford—made Samuel sick.
“I thank God for the help of the Bond Fund, SCSJ, and everyone who helped me raise the money for bond. I am very grateful. I never could have paid for it myself.” He and his family struggled immensely just to scrape together their half of the bond money in the stagnant economy. And while Samuel says it has been a blessing to spend his last days in the U.S. with his family, he worries about those still in the detention center who do not have sufficient funds to leave.
Now Samuel must return to Mexico, with no prospect of employment. He will leave behind his wife, three children and two granddaughters. In 2007, his only son was killed by police in Durham. Samuel wishes he could stay with his family in Greensboro and pursue an investigation of the incident.
Samuel brought his family here thirteen years ago, walking for days with no food or water in the hopes of getting a job to provide his family with a better life and his children with a good education. He worries about how they will fare after he is gone.