His mother was killed before his eyes. Now a young boy struggles to rejoin his family

Rafael Leyva was lone 8 years aged erstwhile his parent was stabbed with a weapon and died successful the young boy’s lap.

Soon aft that, his member and sister were sent to unrecorded with their uncle successful California, portion Rafael — oregon Rafa arsenic his siblings telephone him — remained the ward of an orphanage successful Mexico.

Now, successful a communicative of rising tensions implicit migration astatine the U.S.-Mexico border, Rafa’s uncle is waging an uphill conflict to reunite the lad with his older member and sister astatine the uncle’s location successful Santa Ana.

The occupation is that though his siblings were calved successful the U.S., Rafa was not.

“It wasn’t my prime [to beryllium separated,]” Rafa told The Times done an interpreter. “I didn’t privation to separate. My siblings and I lived unneurotic forever, and they could transverse the borderline but not me.”

It’s been astir 2 years since Melanie Leyva, present 13, and her member Eddy Leyva, 15, past saw Rafa successful person. While Melanie and Eddy unrecorded with their uncle, Jesus Leyva, 11-year-old Rafa resides successful an orphanage successful Baja California astir 10 miles northwest of Ensenada.

Rafa’s intelligence and carnal authorities person declined truthful overmuch that helium has begun increasing strands of grey hair. Jesus Leyva said successful an interrogation that the children grew up successful a satellite marked by unit and witnessed their begetter physically abusing their mother.

On the greeting of Sept. 28, 2022, astatine their location successful Mexico’s Michoacan state, the parents got into what seemed similar conscionable different argument, according to the children and a constabulary study from authorities.

Jesus Leyva and his nephew Rafael extracurricular an orphanage successful Mexico successful aboriginal January.

(Jesus Leyva)

But erstwhile the combat turned violent, the parent told her kids to rapidly enactment connected their shoes; she had had capable and was yet going to permission their father, according to Jesus Leyva.

Before they could escape, however, the begetter grabbed a weapon and stabbed the mother’s pharynx successful beforehand of them, according to prosecution documents and autopsy reports. She died successful Rafa’s thigh portion his siblings ran for help.

After their begetter was arrested, the kids lived temporarily with a household person successful Mexico, but they began to amusement signs of neglect, according to Jesus Leyva. It besides wasn’t harmless for them determination due to the fact that of the precocious transgression complaint successful Michoacan.

Because of their birthright citizenship, Eddy and Melanie were capable to determination successful with their uncle successful March 2023.

Meanwhile, Rafa had to enactment down successful Mexico, wherever his begetter was yet convicted of femicide and sentenced to 23 years successful prison, according to tribunal documents.

In April 2023, Jesus Leyva submitted a petition connected Rafa’s behalf for “humanitarian parole,” which would assistance the lad impermanent introduction to the U.S., according to an exertion reviewed by The Times.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an bureau nether the Department of Homeland Security, grants impermanent parole connected a discretionary ground to radical who whitethorn beryllium inadmissible oregon ineligible to beryllium admitted to the U.S. It grants parole based connected “urgent humanitarian oregon important nationalist payment reasons.”

Citing the brutal unit successful Michoacan — wherever Rafa was inactive surviving astatine the clip — and the information that helium has nary household to instrumentality attraction of him successful Mexico, Leyva said helium intended to use for peculiar migrant juvenile status. If approved, that would springiness Rafa a greenish paper connected the ground of being a kid who was abused, abandoned oregon neglected by a parent.

“Additionally, Rafael’s siblings, Eddy and Melanie, are already surviving with maine and they are attending school,” Leyva wrote. “My woman and I are helping them consciousness safe, and we are looking for intelligence services for some of them. Rafael is the youngest and Eddy and Melanie miss him. The 3 of them request to beryllium unneurotic arsenic soon arsenic possible.”

As the household awaited an reply from the Department of Homeland Security, Rafa was moved to an orphanage successful the municipality of San Antonio de las Minas adjacent Ensenada.

When Rafa arrived successful October 2023, helium was suffering from post-traumatic accent disorder, respiratory problems caused by allergies, nightmares and insomnia, according to a intelligence valuation written by his therapist astatine the orphanage. Rafa besides had difficulties breathing and stopped speaking for agelong periods of time.

In her report, the therapist highlighted the benefits of Rafa moving successful with his uncle: amended intelligence attraction and enactment from his family.

“As agelong arsenic his uncle tin supply the indispensable information and support, Rafael would payment from reuniting with his older member and sister,” the study said. “There could beryllium important benefits to uncovering a scientist based successful the U.S. specializing successful terrible pediatric post-traumatic accent disorder, which is simply a specialty that’s not disposable wherever helium presently lives.”

Rafael Leyva stands extracurricular an orphanage successful the municipality of San Antonio de las Minas, wherever helium lives.

(Jesus Martinez Leyva)

On Feb. 7, 2024 — astir 10 months aft Leyva submitted the exertion — the Department of Homeland Security informed him that it was denied. The bureau wrote that the exertion failed to “establish humanitarian reasons oregon important nationalist benefit” that would warrant allowing Rafa to transverse the borderline into the U.S., according to the rejection missive reviewed by The Times.

Melanie and Eddy were devastated by the news, Leyva said. The trauma of losing their parents and being separated from Rafa has been hard connected them. Sometimes, they’ll look blessed but past commencement crying, seemingly retired of nowhere.

“What they saw was precise traumatic, truthful it’s very, precise difficult,” Leyva said. “Rafa is adjacent worse due to the fact that [some of] his hairsbreadth turned grey erstwhile helium was 10 due to the fact that of each of the trauma and stress. He mislaid his quality to speak, and we could hardly recognize what helium was saying.”

A Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson said the bureau doesn’t remark connected idiosyncratic migration cases due to the fact that of privateness concerns.

Leyva has started trying to follow Rafa, but it could instrumentality up to 2 years earlier the lad tin determination to the U.S. Levya, who works arsenic a locker country attendant astatine an Orange County state club, indispensable besides rise astatine slightest $35,000 to screen the outgo of the adoption — a feat he’s hoping to achieve done online donations.

An worker who has worked astatine the Citizenship and Immigration Services for astir 30 years spoke to The Times connected information of anonymity due to the fact that she isn’t authorized to talk to media. She said that granting humanitarian parole is based connected the discretion of the serviceman who looks astatine the application, which means the determination differs from serviceman to officer.

Because of that, she said, the bureau wouldn’t request to supply a circumstantial crushed to cull the application.

The worker said that based connected the facts of Rafa’s case, she would’ve approved his application.

“I would parole him due to the fact that it’s based connected household reunification,” she said. “He’s a kid and helium saw his parent get murdered.”

Although Rafa’s exertion was denied nether the Biden administration, the worker said that Trump’s presidency has the imaginable to marque the humanitarian parole process much hard for others.

Although a much wide medication whitethorn instruct national employees to construe “urgent humanitarian reasons” successful a much lenient way, the Trump medication could perchance archer employees nary specified reasons exist, she posited.

It’s been astir 2 years since Melanie Leyva and her older brother, Eddy Leyva, past saw their younger brother, Rafael Leyva, successful person.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Sonja Brown, enforcement manager of Nightlight Christian Adoptions, an adoption bureau that has been consulting with Leyva astir Rafa’s case, said that adopting a kid from Mexico typically takes astir 2 years. First, the U.S. authorities needs to o.k. his uncle to follow a child, and past corroborate that determination isn’t anyone other who tin instrumentality attraction of Rafa successful Mexico.

“The kid is already surviving successful an orphanage and that is simply a bully spot to commencement due to the fact that they whitethorn person already recovered he’s eligible to beryllium adopted,” Brown said.

Rafa volition person to enactment successful Mexico during the full adoption process, and determination are steps that request to beryllium followed intimately oregon other the lawsuit could get thrown out, Brown said. Rafa’s begetter volition request to relinquish parental rights voluntarily, oregon they’ll person to beryllium stripped by a justice earlier the kid tin beryllium adopted.

“It’s analyzable with Mexico successful peculiar and due to the fact that this is simply a child, adoption is the champion mode for them to get the kid implicit legally,” she added.

In aboriginal January, Leyva drove to the orphanage to sojourn Rafa, who was looking overmuch healthier and successful amended spirits than the past clip helium saw him.

Rafa is inactive holding retired anticipation of moving to the U.S. He keeps successful interaction with his siblings done video calls, helium said, but helium yearns to beryllium reunited with them physically and permanently.

“We utilized to play together,” helium said. “We lived successful a small colony and would spell to the stream astir each day. We were unneurotic each the time.”