East Sacramento Moms Offer Help At Border As Remote Translators
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A group of East Sacramento mothers is now working to help migrant families separated in processing centers by U.S. border policy.
Some moms are signing up to become remote translators for the detainees.
Victoria Ciganda in one of them. She is heartbroken over the pain the children separated from their parents are experiencing.
"They don't have their parents, and they don't know where their parents are, and they don't know when they're going to see them again and that to me is unacceptable."
Ciganda has a 5-year-old daughter of her own.
"Even telling her, I'm going to the store, she freaks out because she doesn't comprehend how long I'll be gone, Ciganda said.
The audio recordings of children at the detention centers are especially haunting for Ciganda.
"Hearing that -- I might start crying just talking about it -- it was horrific," Ciganda said. "To hear toddlers, young children screaming for their parents they have no idea whats going on."
Ciganda, who is a Sacramento attorney, and biligual, began searching for some way to help the children at the border processing facilities.
"I felt like, something has to be done," Ciganda said.
Through an East Sacramento Moms Facebook group, Ciganda found the non-profit group Immigration Justice Campaign. It is seeking remote translators for detainees along the border.
"So they're asking for people to do interpretation remotely, and then also to go out for a week, Sunday through Friday, visit the detention centers, talk with some of the detainees," Ciganda said.
Ciganda signed up.
Now this Sacramento mother will be serving as a translator and may soon be Texas-bound. Ciganda is now waiting for her marching orders from the nonprofit.
She says other East Sacramento moms are offering to pay for her travel expenses.
