Released From Federal Detention At The Border, Salvadoran Sisters Reunite With Their Mother In Boston

Two teenage Salvadoran sisters were reunited with their mother at Boston Logan Airport on Sunday after spending more than a month in federal custody at an immigration detention facility in Texas.

The girls, ages 15 and 16, fled their home in El Salvador on April 24, heading for the border and aiming to be reunited with their mother, Nohemi, who has been living in Boston for six years.

WBUR has agreed to withhold the family's last name because they are undocumented.

Nohemi asked Boston-based immigrant advocacy group Centro Presente for help in May after the girls contacted her and said they were being kept in a detention center near the border, though they were unsure of the exact location.

Centro Presente said in a statement that its staff helped Nohemi complete "extensive paperwork" necessary to allow her daughters to be released into her care.

Patricia Montes, executive director of Centro Presente, was on hand for the reunion.

"I saw a mother who was very happy," Montes said. "It was an emotional moment for the two girls too, it's a special moment for the family."

With reporting from WBUR's Paul Connearney