Yeni Gonzalez-Garcia is a migrant mother who was separated from her children at the border, then traveled across the country to join them in New York.
Words by Annie Correal, for The New York Times
A dust storm blows through the CoreCivic Eloy Detention center on Thursday, June 28, 2018.
From left: Yeni Gonzalez-Garcia and her lawyer, Attorney Jose Xavier Orochena, talk to media after being bonded out outside of the CoreCivic Eloy Detention center on Thursday, June 28, 2018. Yeni Gonzalez-Garcia, originally from Guatemala, was bonded out from the detention center after enough money was raised. With the help of volunteers, Gonzalez-Garcia will travel by car to New York City to reunite with her three children.
Yeni Gonzalez-Garcia's lawyer, Attorney Jose Xavier Orochena, places his hand on Yeni's shoulder while talking to talk to media after being bonded out outside of the CoreCivic Eloy Detention center.
Yeni Gonzalez-Garcia, 29, looks for her bra size while shopping for new clothes at J. C. Penney on Thursday, June 28, 2018. Gonzalez-Garcia has worn the same clothes for 43 days after being arrested for attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Earlier in the day, Yeni Gonzalez-Garcia, originally from Guatemala, was bonded out from the CoreCivic Eloy Detention center after enough money was raised. Before she left, some of the women in the facility helped braid up her hair. "Vas a seguir adelante," they said, meaning, "You'll keep going."
From left: Yeni Gonzalez-Garcia smooths her hands over a hotel bed while explaining the sleeping arrangements at the detention facility while Janey Pearl Starks, who is driving Yeni Gonzalez-Garcia for the first leg of her trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, listens at the Hilton Phoenix Airport on Thursday, June 28, 2018.
From left: Janey Pearl Starks, who is driving Yeni Gonzalez-Garcia for the first leg of her trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, helps button up the back of Yeni Gonzalez-Garcia's shirt before getting dinner at the Hilton Phoenix Airport on Thursday, June 28, 2018. Pearl Starks is a longtime supporter of immigrant rights and immigrated to the United States at a young age from Guadalajara.
From left: Yeni Gonzalez-Garcia gets emotional while talking about her kids over a chicken wing dinner as Janey Pearl Starks listens at the Hilton Phoenix Airport on Thursday, June 28, 2018.
Yeni González, center right, talks to Sarah Menkedick, center, as volunteers load the car with her belongings on Monday, July 2, 2018.
Sarah Menkedick hugs Yeni González after talking to her about González's kids and her time in Eloy as Jorge Santiago, right, who is driving González to Newark, New Jersey, looks on, on Monday, July 2, 2018.
Yeni González gets emotional as she answers questions from the media about her experience at CoreCivic Eloy Detention center en route to Newark, New Jersey to meet with Senator Corey Booker on Monday,
From left: New Jersey Senator Corey Booker,Yeni González, Janey Pearl Starks, Volunteer Francisco Collazo gather outside of a Hilton hotel on Monday,July 2, 2018. Senator Booker listened to Yeni González's story about her journey to the Untied States, her kids, and her time at CoreCivic Eloy Detention center.
Yeni González, 29, listens to Janey Pearl Starks, who drove her for the first leg of her trip, as they drive to welcome rallies held in González's honor outside of New York City on Monday, July 2, 2018.
Janey Pearl Starks, who drove her for the first leg of her trip, left, opens the car for door for Yeni González, to a hoard of media and supporters at welcome rally held in González's honor at Central Park on Monday, July 2, 2018.
Janey Pearl Starks, who drove González for the first leg of her trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, holds Yeni González hand en route to a second welcome rally held in González honor near the Long Island City Courthouse on Monday,July 2, 2018.
From left: Yeni González, 29, is hugged by Mary Jobaida, 38, at a second welcome rally held in González's honor near the Long Island City Courthouse on Monday, July 2, 2018. After hugging, Jobaida gave González a bracelet, inscribed with "She believed that she could, so she did."
From left: Janey Pearl Starks, who drove González for the first leg of her trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, Yeni González, Julie Schwietert-Collazo, who organized Yeni's release, and Rep. Adriano Espaillat, Democrat of New York walk towards the entrance of a Cayuga Center in Harlem where González's three children are placed in foster care on Tuesday, July 3, 2018.
Items Rosayra Pablo Cruz was released from detention with, including papers, notebooks, and her five-year-old son's shoes, sit in the back of Julie Schwietert Collazo's rental truck on Friday, July 13, 2018. (
Yeni González takes a phone call while Julie Schwietert Collazo hangs out with her kids in a parking lot before Yeni González's kids were released from a Cayuga Center in Harlem on Friday,July 13, 2018.
Paperwork for a migrant mother bonded out from Eloy Detention Center sits on the center dashboard of Julie Schwietert Collazo's car on Friday, July 13, 2018. Schwietert Collazo is the main organizer for Immigrant Families Together, a group of activists and mothers from New York who have been raising money to bond out migrant mothers detained at the border and separated from their children.
From left: Julie Schwietert Collazo and Yeni González get their kids ready for the pool at Julie Schwietert Collazo's apartment on Friday, July 13, 2018. Earlier in the day, Ms. González's kids were released from a Cayuga Center in Harlem.
From left: Mariel, 8, who's parents wished to withhold her last name, Jamelin Garcia Gonzáles, 9, and Deyuin Garcia Gonzáles, 6, lounge around while waiting for the rest of the group to be ready to swim in a pool on top of Julie Schwietert Collazo's apartment on Friday, July 13, 2018. Earlier in the day, they were released from a Cayuga Center in Harlem.
Fernando, 5, son of Rosayra Pablo Cruz, plays with American flags on the rooftop of Julie Schwietert Collazo's apartment on Friday, July 13, 2018.