Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Pierce (06/05/25)
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TITLE: Mistaken Identity | Previous Challenge Entry
By Louis Detweiler
06/12/25 -
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Mom screamed, “Do it yourself.”
“I want a lawyer representing me. Tell Fernando to line up a lawyer so when I present myself to the police I will have representation. I’m not coming back.”
His comment pierced my heart.
I replayed the words, while fighting my tears. “I’m not coming back.”
My father’s voice was even and steady.
Mom sighed heavily, “What happened?”
Dad whispered, “They claim I’m Toney Alverez. They want to deport me. Tony is an illegal immigrant. He switched my identity because he looks like me. He thought if they arrested me, they would leave him alone. I left you with money. Keep it hidden and slowly use it to live. Find a job. You, Tommy, and Maria will always be my wife and family.”
“We will come with you.”
“We’re Mexican and right now I can’t prove I’m not Tony. The police will easily find me with you. When it is safe I will come back.”
The back door softly shut in the black night. I looked in our yard and saw nothing. My Dad was gone. Mom hugged me and said, “Be strong Tommy. We need to pray. Pray God will keep your father safe.”
The police banged on our front door at 2 in the morning. “Come out Laredo. We have your house surrounded. I looked at my mother then answered the door. “My father never came home last night. Where is he?”
The policeman blinded me with his flashlight. “Step aside and we’ll search the house, we have papers.”
After the police searched our small home one of the policemen said, “We’ll be back. Tell your father that.”
I ran to my room and cried to sleep. Mom tapped my shoulder the next morning, “You need to go to school, Tommy, and act like your father never came home last night. I will pray for you. Trust in God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (NIV Romans 8:28). We are being tested my son. Be strong and have faith. It will all work out.”
The school day was normal. My best friend, Phillip said, “I know what happened. Your father will be back.”
I began to pray. Then the thought hit me. Maybe I could help prove my father’s identity.
After school I ran to the ICE headquarters and told the agents what happened. I told them I never met Tony Alverez. I look like my father. Mr. Alverez wouldn’t even recognize me on the street.
The police went to my father’s place of work and questioned the real Tony Alverez. I came into the room and said, “Dad.”
Tony’s jaw dropped open. “Who are you?”
I yelled back, “Say my name.”
Tony stood up and screamed, “I’ve been tricked.”
The ICE agents threw Tony on the floor, then handcuffed him. “Thanks for your smart thinking, Tommy. We almost detained the wrong man. This man is being detained and sent back to El Salvador.”
“What about my father?”
“We’ll put the word out on the street. Maybe he will come back after he talks with his friends. He will call your mother, and she can tell him and all his family members it’s okay to come home.”
“He might stay away for a long time.”
“We’re sorry. We do the best we can. Sometimes we make mistakes. I know all your father was doing was trying to make an honest living.”
Back home my mom and little sister Maria prayed around the dinner table.
Uncle Fernando called on the phone, “I let Laredo know it is safe for him to come home to his family.”
My mother said, “Gracias mi teo.”
After she hung up the phone she sobbed uncontrollably while holding our hands.
Maria and I left the table and went to our beds while my mother waited in the living room.
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I'm grateful for the moms prayers and the sons brilliant idea to help his dad.
Thank you for engaging this issue as part of your well written entry.