{"id":63638,"date":"2025-12-07T22:37:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T22:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/63638\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T22:37:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T22:37:16","slug":"queens-dad-held-for-months-by-ice-finally-wins-freedom-in-time-to-celebrate-christmas-and-baby-girls-first-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/63638\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens dad, held for months by ICE, finally wins freedom in time to celebrate Christmas \u2013 and baby girl\u2019s first birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alexandra Alvarez anxiously waited on the second floor of LaGuardia Airport on Dec. 5, holding her baby girl Mia \u2014 just minutes away from midnight when the tot would turn one. She peered past the baggage claim conveyor belt and the hustle and bustle of the airport, fixing her attention to an escalator.<\/p>\n

Alvarez longed for the mere glimpse of her husband, Manuel Mejia Hernandez. He had been separated from his beloved family on Oct. 22 when ICE<\/a> agents detained him inside 26 Federal Plaza<\/a> before going on an odyssey that would take him to an Arizona detention center. Hernandez has no outstanding criminal record.<\/p>\n

After a long legal battle and weeks of despair,<\/a> Hernandez finally descended the escalator that Friday night. He was still wearing the same clothes he had on the day he was detained. A bittersweet reunion, which could only be described as a Christmas miracle, soon followed.<\/p>\n

Alvarez pointed Hernandez out to Mia. He rushed to the baby and instantly kissed her cheek, but she did not recognize him \u2014 for her, Papa had already been away for too long to remember his face.\n<\/p>\n

Still, he scooped her up before embracing Alvarez in a tearful group hug, the airport Christmas tree glittering in the background.\n<\/p>\n

\"\"Alexandra Alvarez Waits for her husband.Photo by Dean Moses \"\"Alexandra Alvarez Points to her husband.Photo by Dean Moses \"\"The family weeps as they reunite.Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

Both parents fought back tears as those who had just landed gave them quick glances, unaware of the heartache they had been through. The family was finally together again.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel a weight has been lifted. It\u2019s like I am not carrying a burden anymore,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cI\u2019m so grateful to God and for everything that has happened. Because, despite everything, every day, in every situation, whenever things got complicated, a door always opened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hernandez still bears a reminder of his detention, wearing a GPS ankle monitor on his left leg. He recounted what began as a routine check-in with immigration, turning into an odyssey through various detention centers and private facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey put us in shackles and transferred us to El Paso, Texas. During that trip, they tightened the handcuffs on my ankles too much. My ankles hurt. They even kicked me,\u201d Hernandez said.\n<\/p>\n

\"\"Manuel Mejia Hernandez Kisses his daughter.Photo by Dean Moses \"\"The family embraces for the first time.Photo by Dean Moses \"closeManuel Mejia Hernandez is forced to wear an ankle monitor.Photo by Dean Moses \"QueensAnkle monitor and all, the family is happy again.Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

\u2018Every night I prayed\u2019 for release, Queens father recalls<\/p>\n

He described how the guards kept him and other detainees handcuffed and shackled for up to 48 hours, only feeding him a sandwich and an apple.<\/p>\n

Once inside the detention center, he signed up to work in the laundry for just one dollar a day, folding used clothes and underwear to earn an extra plate of food. He saw that the detention center was fueled by donations while the detainees were kept without clean clothes, medical care, or basic human treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came with the desire to get ahead,\u201d Hernandez explained his frustration with the system. \u201cThe immigrant workforce is the foundation of this country.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Despite the mistreatment, Hernandez sought refuge by reading the Bible with other detainees, where his only wish was to come back in time for his baby\u2019s first birthday.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery night I prayed and said to God.\u2019This is all coming to an end now. May it be the best gift to spend the first year with my daughter,\u201d Hernandez said.\n<\/p>\n

In November, amNewYork followed Alvarez in her Queens home as she worked to care for her family in the absence of her husband. With Mia in her arms, she shared that they fled Ecuador after their home was bombed, all because Hernandez attempted to steer young people away from drug dealing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to keep quiet because it\u2019s worse to say that you know who they are because that costs your life. They\u2019re going to kill your family,\u201d Alvarez said, explaining that in Ecuador, this type of action often puts victims at much greater risk.<\/p>\n

A celebration of freedom, and a special birthday<\/p>\n

Throughout the fall, a dark cloud seemed to hang over Alvarez\u2019s apartment as much as it did over her own head as she fought for the return of her husband. However, things were different on Dec. 6, as they prepared to celebrate their little girl\u2019s birthday with a family gathering.<\/p>\n

That cloud had lifted, and the home itself seemed brighter as the couple blew up balloons and fixed them above a bright pink birthday cake.\n<\/p>\n

\"pinkMia\u2019s birthday cake.Photo by Dean Moses \"threeManuel Mejia Hernandez and Alexandra Alvarez celebrate their daughter\u2019s first birthday.Photo by Dean Moses \"\"Manuel Mejia Hernandez Celebrating his daughter\u2019s birthday.Photo by Dean Moses \"\"Mia has her first birthday cake.Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

One by one, members of their family arrived to sing and celebrate the child\u2019s birthday, as well as the reunion. Loved ones from across the city arrived to sing happy birthday to Mia, a celebration she would be told about for the rest of her life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The family also thanked Father Fabian Arias of Saint Peter\u2019s Church, Congressman Dan Goldman\u2019s office, and their legal team for their assistance in helping to reunite them.\n<\/p>\n

As the candles shine on their child\u2019s birthday cake, Hernandez\u2019s ankle monitor flashes as well \u2013 a quiet reminder that their future is still uncertain. The family blew out the candles, wishing for just one miracle: to be allowed to stay and to never have to be separated again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The darkness that once lingered over the small family dissolved into a wash of color and love, their laughter spilling across the table as they shared a fresh plate of ceviche.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cTen years working here, being able to retire and provide my daughter with her own \u2013the same for my wife\u201d, Hernandez said of his hope for the future. \u201cTo continue. To live peacefully. A peaceful life as I\u2019ve always had.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alexandra Alvarez anxiously waited on the second floor of LaGuardia Airport on Dec. 5, holding her baby girl…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63608,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[33450,8072,24370,2301,1087,9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-63638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-family-reunited","tag-ice-arrest","tag-ice-detention","tag-immigration","tag-laguardia-airport","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}