The young boy sat close to his father in the Texas airport, holding the potato chips and water he had for a snack, while waiting for the next part of his journey to begin.
Mateo Lopez Torres and his father Cristobal Torres said they were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border while legally seeking asylum, but were released more than a week later. Torres said he and his son were detained with very little food or water. ABC News met them last year while they were traveling to a relative in Mississippi who sponsored them out of detention.
“We want to come here to work for our family’s future and benefit,” Cristobal Torres told ABC News’ John Quiñones in the Dallas airport, “because in Guatemala the government doesn’t help us.”
Mateo was one of nearly 70,000 children held in a detention center last year alone, according to government data. Unlike many other children, Mateo was not separated from his father while in custody.
Quiñones met Mateo and Cristobal Torres while traveling for a “What Would You Do?” scenario about the immigration crisis in the United States.
The scene was shot at Mac’s, a restaurant in downtown El Paso, Texas, prior to the coronavirus pandemic. One actress played a woman at a restaurant with a young immigrant girl, played by a child actor, whom she is sponsoring in an effort to keep the child out of a detention center. Another diner objects, arguing that the woman’s efforts should be focused on American children who need help.
As part of the full segment, Quiñones reported on the complicated issue of immigration and how innocent children are often caught in the middle of the debate.
Here are some of the reactions and takeaways from diners who witnessed this “What Would You Do?” scenario:
Diners discussed U.S. government support
One diner expressed concern for the well-being of children caught up in these situations but wondered why the government from the country where the child departed wasn’t providing her any help, instead of relying on U.S. support.
“We don’t have the resources to indefinitely take care of children that aren’t citizens,” he said.
MORE: Patron wears Confederate Flag in public: 'What Would You Do?'The diner said "he doesn't know what the answer is” when Quiñones asked him about what can be done for immigrant children who have already arrived in the U.S. but previously expressed “it just can’t be an open door.”
Other customers placed the onus of the young girl’s situation on the U.S. government.
“The United States has a system and a process to handle these situations. That’s what she’s going through,” one woman said. The diner later added, “She has every right to be here.”
Another diner, while describing this scenario as “a big political problem,” decided to focus on “showing compassion to a little girl.”
“They’re coming by the hundreds or the thousands, whether or not we take care of them,” the man said to Quiñones. “So it’s our obligation to help the people that God puts in front of us. Especially the children.”
One diner offered his perspective on immigration policy
“She needs support right now,” Armando Altamirano jumped in after overhearing the actors discuss the child’s situation.
“The U.S. government has all these different pathways to become residents. They can still come here and become residents,” Altamirano said.
Altamirano then showed his support to the woman sponsoring an immigrant child after the angered customer left.
MORE: A new mom with postpartum depression: 'What Would You Do?'“You can do whatever you want. You don’t need to explain to anybody else what you’re doing," Altamirano said. “I really appreciate what you’re doing.”
Altamirano later shared with Quiñones about his own experience, saying he waited more than five years to become a legal U.S. resident.
“It took me a lot of effort financially and emotionally to become a resident,” Altamirano said. “It’s difficult sometimes to say who has a better idea of how to become a citizen and why it should be faster for them than it was for me.”
When asked about the young girl he saw in the restaurant, Altamirano said, “Someone brought her over here. She is innocent.”
Watch the full scenario streaming now on ABC.com or on Hulu. Tune in to “What Would You Do” Tuesdays at 10/9c on ABC.