Mother, son separated at US border reunited in Chicago
Posted July 05, 2018 7:00 am
CHICAGO (AP) - A Brazilian woman separated from her son in May while seeking asylum in the U.S. has been reunited with the 10-year-old boy in Chicago.
The reunion occurred Thursday afternoon, just hours after a federal judge ordered the U.S. government to release the boy to his mother.
The mother, Sirley Silveira Paixao, cried as Judge Manish Shah said they should be promptly reunited.
The 30-year-old woman couldn't stop smiling after the hearing. Through an interpreter, she said she was "very happy" and would never let her son leave her side.
The order came shortly after Shah reunited another Brazilian family. He mulled his decision in the other case for hours, but he took just minutes Thursday, noting no one questioned the mother's fitness to care for her child.
Sirley Silveira Paixao, an immigrant from Brazil seeking asylum, kisses her 10-years-old son Diego Magalhaes, after Diego was released from immigration detention, Thursday, July 5, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
The Associated Press
Sirley Silveira Paixao, an immigrant from Brazil seeking asylum, looks at her 10-years-old son Diego Magalhaes, after Diego was released from immigration detention Thursday, July 5, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
The Associated Press
Sirley Silveira Paixao, right, an immigrant from Brazil seeking asylum, hugs her Chicago based attorney Britt Miller, after a hearing where a federal judge ordered the release of her 10-year-old son Diego from immigration detention, Thursday, July 5, 2018, in Chicago. Silveira Paixao arrived in this country with her son on May 22 and was separated from him shortly after. (AP Photo/Annie Rice)
The Associated Press
Sirley Silveira Paixao, right, an immigrant from Brazil seeking asylum, smiles as she fields a reporter's question with her 10-years-old son Diego Magalhaes, after Diego was released from immigration detention Thursday, July 5, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
The Associated Press
Sirley Silveira Paixao, center, an immigrant from Brazil seeking asylum, poses for a photo with her 10-years-old son Diego Magalhaes, after Diego was released from immigration detention shortly before they depart for a flight to Boston Thursday, July 5, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
The Associated Press
Sirley Silveira Paixao, right, an immigrant from Brazil seeking asylum, smiles with her 10-years-old son Diego Magalhaes, after Diego was released from immigration detention, Thursday, July 5, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
The Associated Press
Sirley Silveira Paixao, left, an immigrant from Brazil seeking asylum, walks with her Boston based legal team, Jesse Bless, center, and Luana Mazon, paralegal and interpreter, after a hearing where a federal judge ordered the release of her 10-year-old son Diego from immigration detention, Thursday, July 5, 2018, in Chicago. The 30-year-old Silveira Paixao arrived in this country with her son on May 22 and was separated from him shortly after. (AP Photo/Annie Rice)
The Associated Press
Sirley Silveira Paixao, right, an immigrant from Brazil, seeking asylum, hugs and smiles at her Chicago based attorney Britt Miller, after a hearing where a federal judge ordered the release of her 10-year-old son Diego from immigration detention, Thursday, July 5, 2018, in Chicago. The 30-year-old Silveira Paixao arrived in this country with her son on May 22 and was separated from him shortly after. (AP Photo/Annie Rice)
The Associated Press
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