Adopted and sexually abused in the U.S., ICE deported her to Brazil decades later

It sounded like freedom, like a world of possibility beyond the orphanage walls. Maria Pires was getting adopted. At 11 years old, she saw herself escaping the chaos and violence of the Sao Paulo orphanage, where she'd been sexually assaulted by a staff member. She saw herself leaving Brazil for America, trading abandonment for belonging. A single man in his 40s, Floyd Sykes III, came to Sao Paulo to meet her. He signed some paperwork and brought Maria home.