CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — A Chula Vista mother is back home with her two young sons after spending nearly two weeks at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, but she says she's still terrified to leave her house and risk being separated from her children again.
Kris Estefany Pineda-Torregosa was released Monday evening, arriving home just in time for the final hours of her youngest son's birthday celebration. She and her husband, Reinaldo Chirino, were detained by ICE in late January after dropping their boys off at school in Chula Vista, leaving no one to care for the children, ages 4 and 12.
"I'm waiting for my husband to get out," Pineda-Torregosa said in Spanish during a video call on Wednesday.
The mother says she struggles to find words to describe what it felt like to reunite with her two boys, who had been cared for by a family friend during her detention.
On their first night back together, her youngest son asked difficult questions: why his father had missed his birthday, why she had left, and whether she would be gone by morning.
"Mom, why did you leave?" the child asked, according to his mother.
The family received another piece of good news late Tuesday when a federal judge granted Chirino bond. Nerea Woods, the attorney working with the family through the county's Immigrant Legal Defense Program, confirmed the development.
"Yesterday at almost 5 o'clock, we got an order from the federal judge granting our petition," Woods said.
Bond for Chirino was posted on Wednesday morning, and Woods expressed optimism about his release.
"We're really hopeful that Reynaldo can be released today or tomorrow," Woods said.
After ABC 10News' reporting on the family's situation, Woods came forward and agreed to take on the case. An ABC 10News viewer also stepped up to temporarily care for the family dog. ICE granted Pineda-Torregosa parole on Monday, allowing her release from detention.
The family is now focusing on fighting their removal case with their attorney while waiting for the father's release so they can be reunited.
The family has a GoFundMe to help them with legal fees and life after detention. If you'd like to help, click here.
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