Gerardo Iván Morales was born in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States of America in 2000 when he was five. He is passionate about advocating for human rights and immigration. In 2018, Iván dedicated six months inside an American child detention center, providing aid and support to detained asylum-seeking children. On his first day, he met D. Esperanza and the two forged a bond, like brothers, that lasts to this day. He and D. Esperanza cowrote Detained: A Boy’s Journal of Survival and Resilience.
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Gerardo Iván Morales
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Detained: A Boy's Journal of Survival and Resilience
D. Esperanza was just thirteen years old when he lost his caregivers, his beloved grandmother and uncle. Since both of his parents were working and living in the United States, D. was left on his own in a small town in Honduras. He quickly realized he simply could not make enough money to survive so he made the difficult decision to head north with his cousins and hopefully reunite with his parents in el norte.
Together, the boys struggled to survive a long and treacherous journey through Central America and Mexico. Along the way, D. and his cousins formed a deep bond, only for the four to be brutally separated at the border of the United States. When he is captured and processed at a facility, neither D. nor his family are given an update on when he will be released or where he’ll go next. Over the next five months, he kept a journal of his experience. The pages tell a story of pain, cruelty, friendship, and resilience, a living testament to the reality of the border. Amidst the senseless inhumanity and violence of US immigration policy, D. found hope in the friendship he and his fellow companions forged, and mentorship from one intrepid advocate who fought on his behalf named Gerardo Iván Morales.
Timely, powerful, and unforgettable, "Detained" brings the border crisis to vivid life.
