By Chris Spargo ~ Daily Mail ~ September 18, 2018
Iris is a mother-of-three and undocumented immigrant living in a mandatory evacuation zone near Wilmington, North Carolina. She was afraid to go to a public shelter believing that ICE would be there and arrest her, separate her children and then deport the family. Her daughter had told her she feared their home would be destroyed, but would rather face death at home than possible separation. ICE had stated that it would not arrest people seeking shelter during Florence earlier in the week, but a number of immigrants do not trust that statement. Reports emerged earlier this year that ICE had been arresting known immigrants they had met during their relief efforts for Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Footage has captured the agony of a young mother trying to decide how best to protect her children just before Hurricane Florence made landfall on Friday. Iris lives in Wilmington, North Carolina with her three children, and was in tears on Thursday when asked by NBC News what she was planning to do when the storm hit. She and her family had been told to evacuate by officials, but she was unsure where to go given that she is an undocumented immigrant and her children were terrified that they would be separated by ICE if they checked into a shelter. 'The little one asked me, "Mom, I am very afraid that our home is going to be destroyed, and I don't want to go to a shelter because I don't want to be separated from you,"' said Iris.
Source: Chris Spargo ~ Daily Mail
