They came from Honduras. Marco Antonio Munoz, his wife and their 3-year-old child. They successfully crossed the Rio Grande together, and came across the Mexican/US border near a tiny Texas town called Granjeno.
They were here legally, asylum seekers. Of course, #ABC was quick to say the opposite.
Honduras is a land in crisis. They have the worlds highest murder rate. Gang violence, extortion and drug wars are every day events for the citizens.
Their president, Juan Orlando Hernandez took over the country via a coup in 2009, and the protests after the election in 2017 killed several people.
They just finally banned child marriage LAST YEAR.
President Hernandez
Over half of Honduran people live below the poverty line and the middle class is pretty much non-existant. Most of the wealth and political power are still in the hands of members of the military.
Life is incredibly difficult for people there. So Marco and his little family came here, seeking legal political asylum.
They were detained by border patrol, and brought to a processing facility where they told the agents they were, in fact, seeking asylum.
But thanks to Trump's new zero tolerance policy, this is where the family was torn apart.
ICE agents physically forced Marco to give them his child. They took the toddler right out of his arms.
Can you imagine? You come from a country torn apart, struggle your way up through several other countries seeking safety and protection in "The Land of the Free". You want to raise your child away from the drugs and the violence and the poverty.
And the first thing those mother fuckers do is steal your child right out of your arms.
Munoz
Marco was livid. He did not strike out at any agents, he did not assault or touch a single person.
But they are quoted as saying: "He lost his shit."
You are treating these people like you are welcoming them to Nazi Germany during the holocaust and you want him to just be chill?
You have LOST 1,500 CHILDREN!!! Why would anyone in their right mind trust you with theirs?!
Instead of being brought to a local jail, Antonio was brought to the Starr County Jail in Rio Grande City and placed in a padded cell, because he was so distraught over being seperated from his wife and child.
Think of it through his eyes, he is in a huge country, asking for help. How is he going to find them again? Nothing was explained in a way to calm him, or help him understand.
He was checked on every 30 minutes. Marco was seen praying at one point.
Then, the next day, obviously out of his head with loss, he took his own life. He was found with a sweater wrapped around his neck and connected to a drain pipe.
Starr County refuses to release his autopsy report. You guys, the jail did not report this. No local media was informed. It was not until the #WashingtonPost got their hands on a Sherriff's report that this story saw the light of day.
If you want to ask questions of them, Starr County Jail can be reached at: (956)-487-4552
Marco was found dead on May 13th, and the Post just broke the story a few days ago. They tried covering his death up.
The Department of Homeland Security will not say if the mother and child have been assisted with their asylum, only that they have since been released.
That baby will grow up without his father. She will raise her son alone, in a country so different, so hostile, so fucking wrong. I hope you're okay out there, Mrs. Munoz, wherever you are, I jope you and that baby have found somewhere safe.
I wish you so much love.