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SLIDESHOW: Father-son reunite at LAX after federal agents separated them
Unauthorized Guatemalan immigrant Hermelindo Che Coc hugs his son Jefferson, 6, after the pair were reunited at LAX following a 48-day separation forced by a change in federal immigration policy.
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Sharon McNary/KPCC
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Jefferson Jacinto Che Pop arrives with an escort of airline employees to meet his father on July 14, 2018, after they were separated for 48 days. The boy, age 6, had been held at a shelter in the Bronx, New York, since late May when he and his father, Hermelindo Che Coc, were separated.
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Sharon McNary/KPCC
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Hermelindo Che Coc, an unauthorized immigrant from Guatemala, greets his son Jefferson at Los Angeles International Airport on July 14, 2018. The pair were apprehended in Texas and separated for 48 days under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy.
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Sharon McNary/KPCC
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Hermelindo Che Coc, 31, from Guatemala, awaits his son's arrival at LAX after they had been separated by U.S. immigration agents for 48 days. Che Coc was released in late June, but his six-year-old son was held until July 14, 2018 in a shelter in the Bronx, New York.
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Sharon McNary/KPCC
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Hermelindo Che Coc carries his 6-year-old son Jefferson to an airport lounge after the pair were reunited at LAX following a forced separation for 48 days. Che Coc was held in Texas while his son was taken to a shelter in the Bronx, New York.
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Sharon McNary/KPCC
)
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SLIDESHOW: Father-son reunite at LAX after federal agents separated them
An unauthorized Guatemalan immigrant father and son, separated by federal agents at the Mexican border in late May, are finally back together.
Forty-eight days after Hermelindo Che Coc last saw his six-year-old son, Jefferson, the pair was reunited at Los Angeles International Airport Saturday night.
Immigration officers took Jefferson away one day after father and son were detained in Texas. The father was released in late June. But Jefferson has been held at a shelter in the Bronx, New York.
Following a public outcry and the intervention of immigration rights lawyers and a federal judge, Jefferson was put on a flight alone to L.A.
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His dad, short and stocky, crushed the slight boy in his arms and sobbed.
A federal judge gave officials until July 26 to reunite the children with their families.
But the only date that matters to Hermelinda Che Coc is July 20, when Jefferson has his seventh birthday at home in Azusa with family.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
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