Under the glaring morning sun, Cancha Reforma, a derelict basketball court in Colonia del Rosario, Nogales, Mexico, has become an unintended sanctuary. Once a community hub, the court now stands neglected, with peeling paint and empty benches as silent witnesses to its past. A gentle breeze stirs the litter across the cracked asphalt, a faint whisper of the stories it holds.
This forsaken place has become a refuge for deported migrants and families displaced from the U.S., who have no choice but to call it home. Makeshift shelters of tarp, plywood, and metal have sprung up in the shadows, offering just enough protection to survive.
“We have formed a community here. We know we are not alone in this,” shared María Rosario Lopez, a former Avondale resident deported over a year ago. Her deportation followed an ICE raid during a carne asada at a friend’s house, despite her pending asylum case.
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Lopez, among the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants facing deportation, endured six months in Arizona’s Eloy Detention Center. Her experience there was marked by isolation and adversity, ultimately choosing deportation for her mental health, leaving her sons behind.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operates over 190 detention facilities nationwide, holding noncitizens during immigration proceedings or awaiting deportation. The process, often lengthy, can be inhumane. Lopez described ICE agents’ treatment as “unapologetic, arrogant and blatantly racist,” akin to a prison.
Lopez’s ordeal included a fractured foot. Despite being offered surgery, she declined due to distrust of the agents and feeling unsafe. Her plea, “‘Let go of my foot,’” went unheeded, highlighting the disregard for her condition.
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The National Immigrant Justice Center reports significant delays and unaddressed requests for mental health care in detention. Six individuals have died in ICE custody this fiscal year, according to the Detention Watch Network. ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Eunice Hyunhye Cho highlighted these issues in a report published last year, stating, “Each of these deaths represent a preventable tragedy, and underscores the systematic danger posed by placing people in immigration detention.”
Deportation and detention breed fear among immigrant families, adversely impacting their health and well-being, as shown in studies by Kaiser Permanente. Lopez continues to grapple with the trauma from her detention experience.
Alma Mendoza, founder of Esperanza, a nonprofit aiding deported families, remarked, “These people are forgotten.” The organization provides essentials such as food, medical equipment, and clothing.
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Esperanza, meaning “hope” in Spanish, visits Cancha Reforma several times a month, bringing essential supplies. Mendoza, who collects donations through her cleaning job in Phoenix, emphasizes, “To so many of us, our everyday necessities seem so insignificant, but to them, it means everything.”
As children play and mothers watch over them, a sense of community prevails amidst the uncertainty, held together by hope. Lopez dreams of reuniting with her family, a wish many in her position share.
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