With a forlorn smile, Dailemas Natali Montana Andrade watched her 6-year-old daughter play with other children inside St. Peter's Church in Midtown. Shouldering the weight of the world, she sat with a dozen other families awaiting immigration counsel. At 27, Montana Andrade has been fighting two battles: one for herself to achieve the American Dream, and the other for the return of one of her beloved daughters.
Aly, an Afghan national, lives in hiding in Pakistan. ALY: I can say that in these months we got older more than 10 or 20 years. HADID: Like he and his wife have aged 20 years. He asks we not use his full name. He's at risk of deportation to Afghanistan, where he fears he'll be harmed or killed. He was a translator in Afghanistan from 2018 to 2021 and was in the pipeline to enter the U.S. ALY: Doors are closing day by day.
