Stephanie’s childhood was good. The way she described her experience was all good, until it wasn’t. When she shared the story of a trip to the happiest place on earth when she was three, the trauma was immediately apparent. Though she was young, the story will forever stick with her.

For her sister’s fifth birthday, Stephanie and her family went on a road trip to Disneyland. At the time, her dad had been in the US for a couple of years working both day and night as a gardener and in construction; physically hard work. It didn’t matter to him that his skin was darkened, burned by the hot sun. All that mattered was that he was able to make enough money to plan this new memory for his family. It was their first time and would be remembered for ever; but not for the reasons you may think. The trip was stopped short by “ICE.”

Stephanie knew she and her family were “different” but never thought it would result in this brutality. Her dad was detained by agents, taken out of the car in front of the whole family. The agents grabbed him by the arm and pulled him hard, dropping him on the cement like a wet dog. They treated him as if he didn’t deserve a normal life, as if he was a criminal, dragging his weakened body away from the car.

They gave no sympathy to his wife and kids in the front and back seat, powerless and sobbing. Stephanie remembers she and her sisters screaming and crying in the car, begging the agents to let their dad go. The agents made it seem as if they were a threat, like they didn't belong. This traumatic experience left Stephanie scared. She was afraid of being treated differently and ever since has had trouble trusting authority.