Diana Acosta Verde crossed the border while pregnant, determined that her child would be born on American soil. Federal agents then separated them almost immediately after delivery.
Acosta Verde entered the United States illegally while six months pregnant. She gave birth in the country, securing U.S. citizenship for her newborn. But authorities placed her in a detention center, forcing her to leave her infant at the hospital.
The case highlights the collision between immigration enforcement and family unity. Acosta Verde's deliberate choice to deliver in the U.S. succeeded in one sense, but the consequence was separation from her child during the critical weeks after birth.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "This is the human cost of enforcement that works technically but devastates practically."
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