In bed 23 at Adelanto ICE detention center, a terrified son misses his mom
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Set us as preferred Wilber Urbina Garcia tossed and turned in bed 23 on the first floor at the Adelanto ICE Detention Center.The mattress was as stiff as cardboard and he was worried about his mom.
He didn’t get to speak with her before he was detained, and she was already naturally anxious, nervous anytime her children were away from her.He knew she would be beside herself.Just a day before, he had graduated from Jordan High School in South Los Angeles wearing an honors stole, the first in his family to walk the stage.
His mother was so proud as they talked about what courses he might take at El Camino College in fall.They celebrated with a family dinner in Long Beach before taking a stroll along the shore.
But the next morning, Wilber, 18, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a routine check-in as part of his family’s ongoing asylum application.His hands and ankles were chained, and he was shipped off to Adelanto alongside a handful of other immigrants, all who were at least a decade older than him.Wilber had never been apart from his family, and his first time traveling at all was when they emigrated from Nicaragua during political repression there in 2022.The family — Wilber’s mom, two older brothers and younger sister — had since grown accustomed to regular appointments with ICE as part of their application.
Wilber could barely keep his eyes closed that first night in Adelanto.His thoughts were spinning.
Would he be sent back to Nicaragua, where his family says they were in danger of political persecution by the government of President Daniel Ortega? Would his mother be able to bear his sudden disappearance? Would he ever set foot in a classroom again, let alone achieve his dream of becoming a doctor? The other men detained in Adelanto, most well into their 40s, were shocked to see Wilb...