PHOENIX – After 23 years of being aside, Elena Díaz, with tears flowing down
her face, lastly embraced her 74-year-old mom, Catalina Díaz.

The final time the 2 noticed one another was simply earlier than the daughter
launched into a journey from Mexico to the U.S. for a greater life. The
emotional toll of not having the ability to go to her mom weighed closely on
Elena and her household.

“It’s unhappy. It’s unhappy as a result of there may be a lot distance. God’s timing is ideal,” she mentioned of the reunion.

Díaz’s mom was a part of a gaggle of about 10 dad and mom who have been
reunited with their households with the help of nonprofits Raíces
del Sur and Esperanza en la Frontera. Raíces del Sur, which implies “roots
of the south,” assists Mexican dad and mom who’ve grownup youngsters within the
U.S. in acquiring visas to go to their households, whatever the
youngsters’s immigration standing.

To acquire a vacationer visa by means of this system, the mother or father have to be at
least 60 years of age, don’t have any prior deportations with false paperwork
and have a legitimate passport.

Elena Díaz mentioned she realized about this system by means of a publish on
Fb, the place she noticed a video about one other household being reunited. She
instantly sought to be taught extra concerning the group to see if it was a
risk for her mom to qualify.

Díaz mentioned she was stunned when her utility was accepted, and
after about 14 months of ready, her mom’s visa was authorised for 10
years.

“It’s stunning since you don’t anticipate that they’ll be capable to
aid you. And when you’re informed sure – in actuality no matter you pay, it’s
nothing – it’s all price it to see your loved ones, particularly when it’s a
mom and father who’re the pillars of a household,” Díaz mentioned.

The Nov. 18 reunion of the Díazes was a part of the third annual that
Esperanza en la Frontera and Raíces del Sur held collectively. The teams
say they’ve reunited greater than 30 dad and mom with their grownup youngsters.

Alma Mendoza, director of Esperanza en la Frontera, helped host the
occasion held at La Oaxaqueña, a Mexican meals restaurant in north Phoenix.
The group, whose identify means “hope on the border,” travels to and from
the U.S.-Mexico border to supply fundamental must migrants, together with
garments, footwear and meals.

In response to Mendoza, the vast majority of purposes for visas by means of
Raíces del Sur are authorised. Households are answerable for overlaying the
price of journey and utility charges however help is obtainable if the
household is experiencing monetary hardship.

“I feel that the longing to see one’s dad and mom is a longing that
each son or daughter has. … Lots of them are unable to go away the
nation, which is the explanation we work collectively to reunite these
households,” Mendoza mentioned.

Elena Díaz’s mom made the greater than 1,500-mile journey to Phoenix
from Cuernavaca, Mexico, by aircraft to see her great-grandchildren for the
first time. Elena was simply 20 years outdated when she arrived within the U.S. –
now she’s 43. By means of telephone calls and video chats, she stayed in shut
contact along with her mom, but it surely didn’t make up for not having the ability to see
one another in particular person.

Catalina Díaz will keep for a month and a half and can go to her
relations for the vacations by means of the brand new 12 months. She mentioned she plans
to go to her household as typically as she will be able to along with her new visa: “God
prepared, I’ll return.”