Felina Rodríguez looked hard, searching for her mother in a school auditorium packed with parents ready to see their children perform. She stood on her tiptoes to make herself taller and craned her neck to see better across the stage. But Felina didn’t find her mom.

Maybe she was running late? Did something happen? She knew that her mother wouldn’t miss this moment for anything.

Felina had just started first grade at an elementary school on the south side of Tucson. It was her first time performing as part of the cast for a school play. She was only 6, and still learning English. She was proud but a bit nervous. 

She needed to feel safe.

If she could meet her mother’s eyes in the sea of strangers, she knew she’d be OK.

María Lourdes never arrived.