Calderon told UPRISE RI that the prison she was in has only two caseworkers for the entire unit, and when she was finally able to speak to one, they said, “You know, I don’t know anything about immigration. I can’t help you. I don’t know what to tell you. We’re here because we work for the jail and we have to be here but I can’t help you”:

“The ladies in the ICE Unit kept asking me, ‘Why are you here?'” said Lilian. “Even the [correctional] officers were asking, ‘Why are you ICE? Why are you here?’ No one understood. “Every time I got moved they would say to me, how are you ICE? Is it drugs? And I was like, no, it’s not. And that’s a problem because everyone thinks that when you’re detained you’re detained because of drugs. “They don’t tell you that the women detained in that unit are moms and grandmothers and they’re daughters,” continued Lilian. “And while I was there there were a few other women who were also there because they went to their immigration interviews with their husbands who are citizens and they have citizen children and they were detained as well. With no reason, no explanation… “Some of them have been there a month, two months. I met a lady that was there for three years. She was shuffled from one place to another place and finally to where we were. She didn’t know what her situation was she was just waiting for her release.”

Calderon also said that while the prison offered classes and programs for inmates seeking help regarding addiction, for example, there was nothing on immigration. “I said to one of the caseworkers, ‘Do I have to pick a class?’ I really don’t want to go outside of my unit because I feel safe where I am,” Calderon said, adding that many of the women in the unit served as support for each other. But the caseworker threatened Calderon with solitary if she didn’t comply.

Meanwhile, Calderon’s family was struggling in her absence. Her husband “had to juggle work and child care solo and the children began seeing a psychologist to deal with the stress of their mother being away. Their father told them only that their mother was at work.” Six million kids have at least one undocumented family member. Research shows anti-immigrant policies can “cause children emotional distress and economic insecurity in early childhood interfere with their healthy development and derail their future success.”

While Calderon is now free following action from the ACLU, her case remains ongoing. “In this case, the government’s left hand beckoned her forward, and its right hand grabbed her,” said Steven Brown, executive director of the ACLU of Rhode Island. “This is yet another local example of families torn apart and lives disrupted for no legitimate immigration enforcement purpose. We are glad that she is able to return to Rhode Island and her family.”

Domenzain said that because more than 20 percent of Latinos in the state are undocumented, communities must stay alert and keep fighting. “How we respond as a state matters,” she continued. “What our leaders say during these times matters. And Rhode Islanders said loud and clear that we are a state that leads with humanity and solidarity.”

x We have to celebrate the small victories, and today was one of them. We have a long way to go but today Lilian is *here* and loved.

Thank you @RIACLU @ACLU_Mass for your work on LilianÃ¢ÂÂs behalf. Todos #SomosHumanos #FreeLilian pic.twitter.com/89XA8rPlti Ã¢ÂÂ Gabriela Domenzain (@GabiDomenzain) February 14, 2018

x We want to share the love Lilian received this morning from supporters. Thank you for the flowers and the cards. #freeLilian #ProtectDreamers #gabidomenzain #somoshumanos pic.twitter.com/m9FEAt2KZ9 Ã¢ÂÂ Luis Gordillo (@Liloluis4ever) February 14, 2018