Hilda Ramirez and her son, Ivan, illegally crossed the border two and a half years ago in a small inflatable raft that began to take on water almost as soon as it hit the Rio Grande. The two nearly drowned on their way across the river, but risking death to escape near-certain death was worth it to Ramirez, who saw the United States as their only chance at salvation. Eventually plucked from the water by the Border Patrol, she and Ivan were sent to a South Texas detention center along with hundreds of other Central American women who had crossed into the U.S. illegally to escape intolerable violence — and who, like her, were seeking asylum.



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