Malex' poems depict both despair and quiet acceptance at the thought of death while in detention.

"We still have 70,000 children caged across the U.S. There's still unaccompanied minors going to court and making decisions on their own.”

"[ICE] used power and fabricated documents and used fake travel documents to deport me to the same country I fled as a refugee."

Maybe it is time that we as a nation re-evaluate, and recognize the humanity of all people. Our quarantine seems difficult, indefinite and uncertain. So does theirs. To them, the circumstances of COVID-19 are nothing new.

"Today marks nearly 14 months that I have not kissed or hugged my small child."

"I do my best to help other children who are sad," 12-year-old W says in his declaration. He and his 4-year-old brother were separated from their uncle after crossing the border.

"...we were instructed to keep digging what was clearly intended to be our own graves." M's story details her horrific experiences in Cameroon before escaping to the US - where she was immediately sent to an immigration detention center.

KA writes to us of his feelings of despair, which have reached the point where he has given up and is ready to be deported to his home country of Ghana.

This young, recently-freed-from-detention Cameroonian man wants you to try his cooking - if he can just raise the money for his food truck.