Split up at the U.S.-Mexico border, family finally reunites

Maria Hernandez, 54, hugs her daughter Michelle, 12, (who is being referred to by her middle name to protect her privacy) while her son Maynor, 34 is overcome with emotion during their family reunification at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 11, 2022. Hernandez was separated from her two daughters and deported to Honduras after attempting to enter the United States in 2017, as former Republican President Donald Trump was rolling out his controversial ?zero tolerance? policy. "So many years without seeing them," she said "They are so big now." REUTERS/Carlos Barria

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - On a Tuesday in January, four years after American authorities pried Maria Hernandez away from her daughters and deported her back to Honduras, she returned to the United States - this time with the blessing of the U.S. government.

At the Los Angeles International Airport, Nicole, now 7, greeted her mother with a single red rose. Michelle, nearly a teenager, hung back with a bouquet of roses and sunflowers. When Hernandez turned towards her, Michelle rushed into her embrace, sobbing.