Sidenote:While the plot and characters of this story are fictional, sadly the situations and actions of ICE in this story are not. I have attached further readings and articles on the recent ICE raids in New York City below this story, since in this modern day of political disclarity and unchecked information, we the public need to be informed as much as possible, in order to stop horrific and dehumanizing situations, such as this.

"Happy 18th Birthday my son!" my parents yelled, jolting me awake at 6:30 am on a Friday: "Thanks" I murmured while seeing them shortly leave my room. I slowly got up and dressed for school, then after having a quick breakfast with my dad, mom, and little sister, Vanessa, walked to my high school.

"Now, class, I would just like to say that our community here in Brunswick, as well as our school district, stand for and will do our best to protect all people living here. And that is why I am telling you today to stay away from ________ street and _________ street, as there have been reports of ICE agents roaming and detaining people around that area today" my teachers, Mrs. Owens said. I froze as I heard this, and many students looked at the empty desk that was in the middle of our desks.

"That is where Rosa lives!" I heard Chris say as I joined my friends for lunch. "Well, maybe she got sick or something you never know," Sam said in response. "I don't know," I said. "I mean since ICE is now trying to deport all illegal immigrants instead of those with only criminal records, anything is up for grabs" I continued. "Guys, wait!" Nick said while running towards us. "I just got a text from Rosa saying that she just crossed the border into Canada now and that she's now being detained by Canadian authorities". We all were in shock while Nick told this news to us, yet at the same time silently understood. Chris then reached across the table and grabbed my hands "Since this is happening Robert, what do your family plan to do?". "So far, we plan to stay here. We love it here in the US and can't imagine living anywhere else" I said instinctively.

On my way home, I found myself to be more anxious than usual, as I was looking around and quickly became paranoid; Rosa's neighborhood was by mine, and I couldn't be too careful. As soon as I got home, I told my parents about what happened and what we should do. The smiles they previously had on their faces quickly disappeared, and in turn, both walked into their bedroom and shut the door. They remained in there for an hour as Vanessa and I did homework at the dining room table. "Vanessa, did anyone ask you anything weird at school today?" I asked my sister. "No Rob, but my teacher, Mrs. Brown, gave me a card and told me to give it to Mama and Papa" she replied and gave me the card. I gave the card containing the name of an immigration lawyer to my parents as they walked out of the bedroom and to the dining room table.

" Rob and Vanessa, it is time for Mom and Dad to go over a plan with you guys," my father said. "As you both have heard recently, there are people close to our area that are looking for people like mama and me to take away. And because of this, we have to be prepared for the worst case scenario" he continued. "First, we-" he started to say until we heard a loud knock at the door. " I got it," my mother said, and walked closer to the door.

"Who is it," she asked. "Is a Mr. and Mrs. Cruces here?" a low and authoritative voice asked her on the other side of the door. "No sir" she answered, and started to walk away from the door when the voice asked again. "Are you sure that there is not a Mr. and Mrs. Cruces here?" he said. "No, they are not here" my mother turned around and replied. "Well, ma'am, we are police and would like to speak with you and your husband anyway" he then added. "Do you have a warrant" my mother then asked them, to which they replied "No ma'am, however, we, the NYPD need to talk to you, it is regarding your children" the voice explained. "I didn't do anything wrong," I told my mother, and my mother said, "I know".

"Sorry sir, in order to come into our house, you will need to show us a warrant; that is the only way that we will let you into this house," she said loudly but calmly. "Ma'am, this is your last warning, if you do not allow us into your apartment, then we will have to go in by force ourselves" the voice shouted. "Sir, if you do not have a warrant, and are a police officer, then you by law cannot go into our house," she said, raising her voice. My mother was walking back to the dining room table when they kicked in our door.

"Hands on your heads" they yelled as they ran towards my parents. As they then started to handcuff both of my parents, I grabbed my little sister and nestled us both in the corner of the kitchen, taking in everything that was happening. "I order you to leave my house!" my father yelled at the supposed police; "we did not give you our consent to come in here!" my mother repeated over and over. However, the intruders put both my mother and father in handcuffs and finally announced that they were ICE agents, and were being detained. And when they started to search the house without my parents' consent, I grabbed my cell phone and started recording.

"What are your names?" I shouted as I got closer and closer to the agents; I was not going to let them barge into my home, take away my parents, and rummage through our things. "Put the phone down!" one of the agents said, and in response, I shook my head. He then repeated himself another two times, then took out his taser, asking me one last time to stop recording what was going on. I refused again and continued to hold up my phone until I felt a violent shock go through my body. I then dropped my phone as I felt my knees give out and fell to the ground; I blacked out after I felt the electricity go through my body a couple more times.

It was 4 in the morning when I woke up and saw that my apartment was a mess. Luckily, after hobbling around the apartment for a couple minutes, I was able to find my sister hiding in the closet, and had her sleep in my room for the night. I locked my bedroom door before I went to sleep, as our front door was kicked open, and I wouldn't be able to call a repairman until the morning.

At 7:30 in the morning, I woke up again and got my little sister ready for school, and even made her breakfast. And because of what just happened, I walked her to school myself, and making sure not only that she was safe, but also to comfort her; her hands couldn't stop shaking until we arrived at her school. I then walked back to the apartment and looked online in order to find which detention center my parents were taken too. Shortly after finding them, I took the subway to Penn station and paid a bus fare that would take me to Goshen, NY, which was two hours north.

I could barely keep myself together as I heard about the terrible conditions that my parents dealt with at their detention center. From fighting over access to the phones to using the microwave, and even to the high prices of utensils such as forks and spoons, my parents told me how bad they were being treated. "They treat us as if we are murderers," my mother told me as she was crying; my father was more on the silent side, and was focusing more on taking care of my mother than himself. However, they reassured me that Vanessa and I would be ok, "you both were born in the US, and therefore are citizens" my father said, "we are not" my mother continued. "But I don't regret giving my children a better life, even if it means this," she said. Unknowingly, this sentence would haunt me for the rest of my life, and even keep me awake some nights.

It felt like days had gone by as I watched the trees of Goshen disappear and the gray dismal buildings of New York City slowly appear closer and closer to me. And when I finally got home, I fell to the floor and cried. And when I fell apart and was lying on the cold wood floor, I prayed to God, and in my hour of need asked him to save my family, to save us all. "I couldn't take care of my sister by myself," I said to myself, "I wouldn't know how to". I continued to heavily cry and ask for help from the silent God until I fell asleep.

It was 2:30 in the afternoon when I woke up, and remembering that I would have to pick up my sister from school at 3:00, washed my face, and cleaned myself up. And as I was about to leave my apartment, I saw a small card on the floor and picked it up.

"Law Office of Mr. Morena: Specialty in Immigration and Citizenship Cases" it read, and saw the number at the bottom.

"This is Mr. Morena's office, how may I help you?"

"Yes, my name is Robert, and my parents were taken away by ICE last night. I also have a little sister, and we were both born in the US. But, I have no idea what to do. I-"

"Robert, say no more, I will transfer you to Mr. Morena immediately"

"This is Morena, and I heard about your case. What is your address?"

"1975 2nd Ave, Brooklyn, NY"

"I'll be right over"

For Further Reading:

City Of Fear

How to Prepare Yourself for an Immigration Raid

ICE Home Arrests Protect Your Rights

Numbers show ICE is using tougher tactics in New York under Trump, says report