Houston mom finally finds immigrant daughter

Neyri Rodriguez located in Nogales, Ariz., shelter

SAN ANTONIO – Speaking by phone from her home in Houston Tuesday evening, Mercedes Rodriguez could barely contain her joy.

Rodriguez said she felt pure happiness: "Puro felicidad!"

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She had learned her 13-year-old daughter Neyri had been taken to a shelter for immigrant children in Nogales, Ariz.

But Rodriguez said it took Neyri's aunt going to the Honduran consulate in Houston, where she broke down in tears.

Up until then, Rodriguez said the consulate had been of little help. She said they notified her while she was at work, saying they had good news.

Then came the words that Rodriguez said she'd been waiting to hear, "We found your daughter."

She said Neyri was located two weeks after she was detained at the border in McAllen, Texas, and put on a bus bound for somewhere else in Texas.

Her mother had tried to track her down among the tens of thousands of other immigrant children now in the U.S. illegally.

So when she heard Neyri's voice on the phone from Nogales, Rodriguez said, "I couldn't speak. I couldn't. ... I could only think of God."

But Neyri's mother said she is very concerned about her daughter's health, having had surgery near her heart when her daughter was younger.

Rodriguez said Neyri was crying.

"She told me she was sick," her mother said.

Rodriguez said she hopes to find out soon when she'll be reunited with her daughter.

She said until she has Neyri in her arms, "I won't rest."

 


About the Author:

Jessie Degollado has been with KSAT since 1984. She is a general assignments reporter who covers a wide variety of stories. Raised in Laredo and as an anchor/reporter at KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley, Jessie is especially familiar with border and immigration issues. In 2007, Jessie also was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame.