A woman who just moved to South Florida with her children may be gearing up for an international custody battle after she says her ex-husband showed up to take his kids for the weekend and may have taken them across the border in to Mexico.
Arelys Hernandez wishes she could hold her boys again, but now she can only look at pictures. She wants her kids back and she needs them, she told NBC 6 in Spanish Thursday.
Hernandez said it all started when her ex-husband Odair Perez was recently visiting from Mexico. He had been in the U.S. for about two months. Every other Saturday the father would pick up the kids to spend time with them. But, this pass Saturday Hernandez said the father picked up the kids and never returned.
"He took them away from me like nothing," she said in Spanish.
She said he hasn't returned her phone calls and be blocked her on Facebook. She even tried reaching out to his family in Mexico to no avail.
The 28-year-old, who is Cuban, married Perez in Mexico, where they had 3-year-old Logan and one and a half year-old Nyan. She says her ex gave her written permission to cross the border eight months ago. And since she's Cuban she was able to claim asylum. But that's where it gets messy.
"Since all three have paroles a year after coming in which is a few months away, she can adjust status to that of a permanent resident. What happens is if they leave the country they could abandon their parole and they may not be able to come back," immigration attorney Wilfredo Allen said.
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Allen, who doesn't represent Hernandez, advised that she contact a family attorney.
"Does she remain here and fight here and try to become a resident and then fight the kids taking or does she abandon her chance to become a resident and follow this case back to Mexico? It's a very difficult situation," Allen said.
Hernandez also went to City of Miami Police and tried the Department of Children and Families. She can open a case to try and file a paternity action but again the options are tough since the kids were born in Mexico and there is no definitive custody agreement.
Hernandez said she's determined to keep fighting.
