My name is Yorely, and I am the mother of Maikelys Antonella, a 2-year-old Venezuelan girl who was ripped from my arms by the U.S. government.
Please, I am begging you, tell the Office of Refugee Resettlement to give me back my daughter.
We went to the U.S. seeking opportunity after years of economic hardships, but instead of a chance to build a better life, we were torn apart. I was deported to Venezuela. My husband was sent to a prison in El Salvador. And my one year-old baby – my sweet Maikelys – was left behind. Alone. In U.S. foster care.
Since they took her in 2024, the ORR has moved her between three foster homes, including one where there were allegations of sexual abuse.
I cry every day knowing she is somewhere out there without me, wondering where I went. I want her to know I would never, ever abandon her. One day when we are reunited, she will wonder why the U.S. government would take a baby girl away from her parents.
As a mother, I cannot take a sip of water without thinking, “Is my baby thirsty?” I can’t sleep without asking myself, “Is she warm? Is she safe? Is she scared?”
There was no court hearing. No charges. No trial. No chance to defend ourselves. They simply tore us apart without explanation.
[Yorely Bernal Inciarte and Maiker Espinoza Escalona with their two-year-old daughter Maikelys Antonella Espinoza Bernal]
And now, my daughter is treated like she has no family. Me and my husband can’t even navigate this hardship together, because it wasn’t enough for them to take our baby. They had to separate us from each other too.
She is just a little girl. And I am her mother.
Please, help me reach the people who are keeping my daughter. Tell ORR that Maikelys is not an orphan. She has a mother. She has a home. She has me, waiting for her in Venezuela.
What no one tells you is that once the ORR takes your child and you’re no longer there, it’s as if you never existed. The ORR doesn’t have a plan to bring her back to me, only to manage her, to “place” her. It’s like they’ve already decided she no longer belongs with us.
But she does. She belongs with her family. She belongs with me.
It’s not a glitch in the system. It’s a reflection of a system that pushes families to leave their homeland and then punishes them for trying to survive.
Please, from one mother to another, from one human to another: help me bring my daughter home. Tell the ORR to reunite Maikelys with her family. Share her story. Speak her name. Don’t let the U.S. government hide what they’ve done to us behind a wall of deception.
Please, if you’ve ever loved a child, if you’ve ever felt the instinct to protect someone with your whole being, stand with me now.
Help me bring my baby home.
Con todo mi corazón,
Yorely Bernal Inciarte
Other Ways to Engage
For too long, the U.S. has failed to be a good neighbor fueling displacement through military interventions, economic warfare, and sanctions that harm everyday people in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Instead of offering refuge, the U.S. criminalizes and deports those fleeing these conditions. We refuse to let our neighbors be terrorized! Check out our ICE Resistance Toolkit for resources to resist raids, protect immigrant neighbors, and take action against deportation policies.
