They Just Took You Away
In my daughter's nightmares, a window into how children are processing Trump's immigration raids. Such expressions of fear are normal, mental health professionals say.
We are in the living room of our small home in East Los Angeles when an immigration agent takes me away. That's the dream Quetzal, my 9-year-old daughter, describes to me in a near-whisper.
I ask her to use her powerful voice, the one she uses to answer teachers' questions at school.
In Quetzal's dream, her sister is playing piano when there's a heavy knock at the door. Tzunuum runs to open it, while Quetzal and I follow her to find a man on our porch who refuses to identify himself. Then, suddenly, I am gone, Quetzal says, and she and her sister are left crying.
I've been reporting on how the Trump administration's aggressive immigration raids have shaken Los Angeles communities.
Author's summary: A daughter's nightmares reveal her fear of immigration raids.