Face of the Day

What gives you hope when you're being held in a US immigration detention facility?

For New Zealand citizen Everlee Wihongi, it was the support of her family and loved ones, but she says hope can be a bad thing in a place like that.

“Lots of times it was bad to have hope that things would go well,” she said.

“It was like I can’t look too far into the future because I don’t know how long I’ll be here.”

Wihongi, who has lived in the US for decades and holds a green card, was detained by ICE in early April after coming back from New Zealand.

She was held for more than 70 days because of a 2016 cannabis conviction that was later thrown out by the courts.

Now, she’s back home in Wisconsin with her family.

Speaking to RNZ, Wihongi said her time in detainment was one of the most miserable experiences of her entire existence.

Officials at the facility would refer to her as a bunk-bed number, rather than by her name, she said.

She wasn’t Everlee Wihongi, she was ‘Six Up’.

“It was dehumanising conditions,” Wihongi said.

RNZ