COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Stephanie Gonzalez sees the newest images coming from the southern border of the United States.

She says they bring back memories of the hardest event in her life.

Gonzalez, 16, is Edith Espinal’s daughter. Espinal is the mother of three, and an undocumented immigrant, who has been living at a Clintonville church for several months to avoid deportation.

Gonzalez, who was born in the United States, is a citizen.

In 2013, however, she lived in Mexico. Near the end of that year, Espinal and Gonzelez’s brother crossed the border. In early 2014, Gonzalez said she and her father also crossed the border, only to be detained.

“It was like a jail,” she explained. “Me and my dad were in a room. We were there for two days. After that, they separated me from my dad. It was like late at night. We were already in California and they took me to children’s services after that.”

Gonzalez said she spent about a week, separated from her parents, in a facility similar to what she sees today in Texas.

“It break my heart because it reminds me of when I was there,” she said of the processing centers used today.

Gonzalez said she has been reaching out to lawmakers, hoping for a change in the nation’s immigration policy.

She said she has no plans of stopping, especially in light of the families being separated.

“They [lawmakers] should think about them being in this position, being separated from their kids,” said Gonzalez. “How would they feel?”