Camila and Alejandro* were only one and three years old when their parents traveled from Cuba to the United States to find greater opportunities and a better life for their family. The children stayed in Cuba with their grandparents who loved and cared for them. However, they missed their parents and yearned to be a family again.
After making the extremely perilous journey alone through several countries, the now 11 and 9-year-old Alejando and Camila arrived at Catholic Charities Dallas’ St. Mary’s Center for Children in late November of 2023.
St. Mary’s Center for Children is an extension of our Children’s Services mission. We provide daily care, supervision, and case management services to eligible unaccompanied immigrant and refugee youth ages 5-13. Our primary goal is to reunify youth with their family members as quickly and safely as possible.
The CCD team immediately began their search and connected with Alejandro and Camila’s parents. After learning of their children’s arrival at the center, the parents quickly sent all the required paperwork to ensure their reunification would happen as soon as possible. On December 5, only a week after arriving at the shelter, the two children were finally reunited with their loving parents after eight, long years. Their reunion was full of tears, laughter, hugs, and many thanks to the program staff. Through tears of joy, the parents hugged the children and promised they would never be separated again.
Reuniting families and serving others drives the work our Children’s Services team does daily. To learn more about our program, please visit https://www.ccdallas.org/services/childrens-services/.
*Names have been changed
