Alba Matamoro and her daughter Mauren, 8, talk by phone with one of her sons back in Nicaragua before going to bed Thursday, May 28, 2026, in their Maplewood apartment.聽
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
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MAPLEWOOD 鈥 When students and staff come back to the Maplewood Richmond Heights Early Childhood Center after summer break, two of their custodians may be gone, deported to Nicaragua, where they fled from violence four years ago.
鈥淚 feel much more relieved now because he called me. I hadn鈥檛 heard from him for several days,鈥 said Alba Matamoro, who takes a call from her husband with their daughter Mauren, 8, by her side Thursday, May 28, 2026, at their apartment in Maplewood. Her husband, Boanerges Flores, was detained by ICE during a routine appointment on May 18. He told her during the phone call he expects to be deported back to Nicaragua sometime this week.
鈥淚n Nicaragua, I worked from home making tortillas to sell, and I also owned a clothing store,鈥 said Alba Matamoro, who her shift as a janitor on Friday, May 29, 2026, at the Maplewood Richmond Heights Early Childhood Center in Maplewood. Matamoro has been working double shifts, covering her husband鈥檚 shifts, since ICE detained hime last week during a routine appointment.
Alba Matamoro wipes tears away from her eyes during an interview on Thursday, May 28, 2026, at her apartment in Maplewood while talking about how her husband was detained by ICE during an routine appointment.聽
Mauren Flores-Matamoro's first grade graduation certificate hangs on the wall at her apartment in Maplewood, on Thursday, May 28, 2026.聽She just completed second grade this year.
鈥淚 try not to let her see me sad,鈥 said Alba Matamoro, who shares her nightly skincare routine with her daughter Mauren, 8, on Thursday, May 28, 2026, at their apartment in Maplewood.聽
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
Mauren Flores-Matamoro, 8, helps her mother Alba Matamoro place a sock underneath her ankle monitor before they go to bed on Thursday, May 28, 2026, in their Maplewood apartment.聽
Alba Matamoro and her daughter Mauren, 8, talk by phone with one of her sons back in Nicaragua before going to bed Thursday, May 28, 2026, in their Maplewood apartment.聽
鈥淚 feel much more relieved now because he called me. I hadn鈥檛 heard from him for several days,鈥 said Alba Matamoro, who takes a call from her husband with their daughter Mauren, 8, by her side Thursday, May 28, 2026, at their apartment in Maplewood. Her husband, Boanerges Flores, was detained by ICE during a routine appointment on May 18. He told her during the phone call he expects to be deported back to Nicaragua sometime this week.
Alba Matamoro wipes tears away from her eyes during an interview on Thursday, May 28, 2026, at her apartment in Maplewood while talking about how her husband was detained by ICE during an routine appointment.聽
Mauren Flores-Matamoro's first grade graduation certificate hangs on the wall at her apartment in Maplewood, on Thursday, May 28, 2026.聽She just completed second grade this year.
鈥淚 try not to let her see me sad,鈥 said Alba Matamoro, who shares her nightly skincare routine with her daughter Mauren, 8, on Thursday, May 28, 2026, at their apartment in Maplewood.聽
Mauren Flores-Matamoro, 8, helps her mother Alba Matamoro place a sock underneath her ankle monitor before they go to bed on Thursday, May 28, 2026, in their Maplewood apartment.聽
鈥淚n Nicaragua, I worked from home making tortillas to sell, and I also owned a clothing store,鈥 said Alba Matamoro, who her shift as a janitor on Friday, May 29, 2026, at the Maplewood Richmond Heights Early Childhood Center in Maplewood. Matamoro has been working double shifts, covering her husband鈥檚 shifts, since ICE detained hime last week during a routine appointment.
