Alejandra’s Story

Alejandra fled her home country in South America in 2022. Members of her family had been killed by guerrillas. Alejandra had been wounded twice during attempted kidnappings. 

She scraped together enough money to get to Mexico, where she headed to the border to apply for asylum. 

U.S. immigration officials handcuffed and chained Alejandra and sent her to Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. After six weeks, she was handcuffed and shackled again and put on a bus. 

Destination: Stewart Detention Center 

Alejandra was granted a bond that would allow her to be released, but she couldn’t pay it. She felt trapped. She considered asking ICE to just deport her. “Just let me be killed in my country,” she thought. “At least for a while, I would be free.” 

When Holly Patrick, an El Refugio board member, visited Alejandra, she was losing faith and struggling to sound positive on the phone when she called her mother and daughter back home. But then, out of nowhere, Alejandra got released! 

She said, “When I got out of that place, it was like finding God again.” 

Alejandra was taken to the Atlanta airport, where Holly picked her up. 

She spent the next few days calling around, trying to figure out where to go. A friend of a friend invited her to come to California and share an apartment. 

Holly created a GoFundMe campaign, and her friends and family members chipped in to get Alejandra to California, with a little extra to get started. 

Today, Alejandra says she is feeling hopeful and moving forward in faith.