Matthew Casey/KJZZ

Rosaira Pablo Cruz holds photos of her two sons. Pablo Cruz was planning to catch a red-eye flight to New York Thursday night, with the hope of seeing the boys for the first time in about three months.

An undocumented migrant mother from Guatemala planned to catch a red-eye flight from Phoenix to New York on Thursday night, where she hoped to see her two sons for the first time in about three months.

Rosaira Pablo Cruz lived in Chicago when she learned her older son was threatened by a gang that wanted money, so she returned to Guatemala with her younger son.

When she couldn’t protect her family, Pablo Cruz brought both boys to the United States. They were apprehended after crossing the border illegally near San Luis, Arizona, then separated by immigration authorities. The kids were then sent to New York.

Pablo Cruz was held in detention until this week and is now on a mission to see her boys.

“When my husband passed away, I started to work to help my kids get ahead,” she said in Spanish. “Everything I’ve done has been for them.”

The 35-year old has applied for asylum in the United States.