Seven-year-old Fega arrived at a New York airport in May 2000. A terrible rash covered her body, along with other signs of neglect. No one came to pick her up. Her mother, undocumented and scared, sent a note to immigration officials asking them to send Fega back to Nigeria. But her father in Nigeria said he did not want her back.
AI Justice met Fega when she appeared alone in Miami Immigration Court. Immigration had placed her in a local children’s shelter. AI Justice fought for her legal relief. Following a front page New York Times story about her plight, she was released to a relative in Connecticut after 15 months in detention.
Fega and her AI Justice attorney later attended a Senate hearing to call attention to the plight of children in immigration custody.