She is one of the 114 people working at Corso’s Flower & Garden Center who were arrested in a U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement or ICE raid on June 5, 2018.
"I saw officers from ICE and Border Patrol. Some were wearing Army fatigues. Their faces were covered and they had guns," she said in Spanish.
WTOL 11 promised to not reveal her identity because she fears retaliation while she waits for a decision on her immigration status.
She described the 12 hours while she was detained as the hardest of her life because she did not know if she would ever see her five U.S. citizen children again.
"I have faith in God. He's the only one who can help us find the best solution for my children,” she said in Spanish.
Unlike dozens of other arrested Corso's workers, she's one of the lucky few who were released and reunited with their families.
When WTOL 11's Viviana Hurtado told her critics blamed her for breaking the law to enter the country illegally, she said she understands the criticism. But she pleads for compassion.
"In Mexico there's a lot of violence and no work. In America, we don't starve and I can work to provide a home, food, and clothing for my children," she said/
She said she loves America and her fight is not for her, but for a better life for her citizen children.
"I want my kids to study and become professionals, to be somebody. I don't want them to end up like me: a nobody working long hours for little pay,” she said.
She currently wears an electronic monitoring device while her immigration case is decided by a judge.
