Y. opens a gift at her baby shower in Parkesburg, Pa. on Dec. 9, 2023.

Y. unpacks gifts from her baby shower in Glen Mills, Pa. on Dec. 10, 2023.

Y. sits on her bed, torn between her past and her future, in Glen Mills, Pa. on Dec. 10, 2023. "One of the biggest things that I want is citizenship," she says. "Because there is one reason why I want to go back—to see my mom. That’s one of the biggest dreams I really have."

(Left) A few days before going into labor, Y. waits with anticipation for her son's arrival. (Right) With a four-month-old baby, Y. says, "I do really love being a mom."

Y. cradles her baby boy M. in the hospital in West Chester, Pa. on Dec. 15, 2023.

(Left) M. in the hospital in West Chester, Pa. on Dec. 15, 2023. (Right) Y. wears these rings gifted to her by her parents each day, and now adds a necklace reminding her of her son M. to her jewelry collection.

Y. holds her baby M. while his father wipes his face in West Chester, Pa. on Dec. 15, 2023.

Two buzzards soar above Y.'s home in Toughkenamon, Pa. on March 15, 2024. Y. begins life as a mother without most of her family around to support her. She says, "If I can have a wish, I would ask for my mom to come here but I know she cannot come."

Y. holds M. in her bedroom as she prepares to lay him down in Glen Mills, Pa. on Dec. 27, 2023.

Y. walks M. to the car with her host family as they go to church in Glen Mills, Pa. on Jan. 21, 2024.

Y. and her father came to the US when she was nine-years-old and first settled in Tennessee. She says, "It was so happy for me until I found out we were moving [to Pennsylvania]. I could not even say goodbye to my friends. [Coming here] brought me through tough things. I didn’t go back to school right away–I missed two and a half years working [at the mushroom farms]."

Y. cradles M. in Glen Mills, Pa. on Dec. 27, 2023.

Y. bounces M. in her father's home in Toughkenamon, Pa. on Jan. 26, 2024.

Y. feeds M. in her father's home in Toughkenamon, Pa. on Jan. 26, 2024.

M. waits for his mom in Toughkenamon, Pa. on Jan. 26, 2024.

Y. cleans M.'s toes in Toughkenamon, Pa. on April 15, 2024. "Since I've had him, it’s been really good for me. But I do think how my life [would have] been if I didn’t have the baby."

Y. prepares formula for her son in Toughkenamon, Pa. on April 6, 2024.

M. naps beside his mother in Toughkenamon, Pa. on April 15, 2024.

Y. manages motherhood in addition to keeping up with remote schooling and her other responsibilities in Toughkenamon, Pa. on April 15, 2024.

Y. waits for her son to fall asleep in Toughkenamon, Pa. on March 15, 2024.

Y. plays with her son's toes in Toughkenamon, Pa. on April 15, 2024. "He seems [to be] doing good," she says. "I’m doing really great being his mom. It didn’t make me happy when I found out I was pregnant, but now, I’m really glad I had him."

Y. walks with M. to her favorite spot to relax in her father's home in Toughkenamon, Pa. on April 15, 2024.

Y. and M. in Toughkenamon, Pa. on March 15, 2024. She says, "You can’t judge illegal people here. People are here for some reason. My dad is here to [support family]—those eleven kids [who] need clothes and to go back to school, need books, pencils, and all that. And he can’t get enough [in Guatemala]."