Twin Cities mom and daughter recount 55-day ordeal in Texas immigration center
You've likely heard of Liam Ramos, the 5-year-old boy from Columbia Heights, Minnesota, in the bunny hat detained with his dad earlier this year by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Columbia Heights Public School District had at least seven students detained during Operation Metro Surge, most with their parents. That includes Valley View Elementary fifth grader Zuriel.
She and her mom, Soraya Gualinga, were sent to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Dilley, Texas, in January after her mother was arrested while at work. They stayed there for nearly two months.
Inside a Valley View classroom, Zuriel and her mom — who spoke with WCCO via a Spanish language interpreter — say they are grateful to be here.
Gualinga said she was terrified, and she wasn't leaving without her daughter. So they went to her house to pick up Zuriel.
Zuriel said there was a small box where they put their phones so they couldn't communicate with anyone.
The family came to Minnesota from Ecuador in 2024 and says they used the CBP One app to apply for asylum. Their case was moving through the system when they were taken to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis.
Zuriel says she thought it was another check-in, but noticed people with their hands and feet tied up.
"'That's it. I'm done for. I'm going to jail right now,'" Gualinga said.
She says she imagined the worst as they shackled her feet, but says she wanted to be strong for her daughter so she wouldn't be scared.
They say they flew on a commercial flight to Texas the same day, living in a room with a few beds, other kids and families at the center in Dilley for 55 days.
Zuriel said she was scared during her detainment because she didn't know where she was. She kept asking her mom what was going on and when they were going to leave.
They say they were released following a habeas petition arguing they were unlawfully detained and made their way back to Minnesota. Gualinga has to wear an ankle monitor until her next immigration appointment.
Zuriel is back with her classmates. She says she hasn't shared what her family went through with friends, but being with them helps her.
They say they live with anxiety and fear. Zuriel says she worries every time she sees a car like the one they were taken in.
They also want people to know there is hope. She said she wants to tell her friends still at Dilley to not lose faith, that everything will be OK in the end.
Gualinga said if she had to make the same choice again, she wouldn't have brought her daughter with her.
She's now signed a DOPA form, giving another adult authority to make decisions for Zuriel if she is detained.
