Every time someone knocks on the front door, little 3-year-old Emmanuel thinks his dad is on the other side. Every time the door opens, he isn’t there.

Weeks ago, his father, Yonquenide, was detained by masked ICE agents at Federal Plaza at what was supposed to be a routine asylum application hearing. The detainment ripped the family apart, leaving Yonquenide’s pregnant wife, Franyelis, struggling to provide for Emmanuel and their other son, 8-year-old Yoneifer, with a third child on the way.

The family — whose last name has been withheld by amNewYork due to the sensitivity of the case — now resides in a Brooklyn apartment with Yonquenide’s sister. Franyelis, 28, fights back tears when recalling the moment her husband was ripped away from her arms. Close

Get amNY in your inbox! New

See Full Page