For Kharen Hernandez, the most devastating part of being at Adelanto Detention Center was the reading.
When fellow detainees opened official letters from deportation officers, Hernandez was asked to translate. Sometimes she had to give them the news they would be deported immediately. “That was the worst part,” she said.
Originally from Durango, Mexico, the 27-year-old came to Santa Barbara at age 4. After she was convicted of a DUI last December, she spent three weeks in County Jail. (She denied she was the driver.) She had two priors for petty theft. Custody staff let her out eight days early. The deputy told her, Hernandez recalled, “I’m going to be honest with you. The reason why you are being released is because ICE is here for you.”