A grandmother has chosen to self-deport over fears she’d be kicked out of the United States and sent to Mexico by Donald Trump.
The 51-year-old woman, identified only as Regina, has lived in South Los Angeles since 1989 but boarded a one-way flight to Mexico City on June 7 and left her life behind.
Her daughter, Julie Ear, said her mother had become frightened over the Trump Administration’s continued efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and deportations.
‘After decades of hard work in the US, she made the difficult decision to return home, not because she wanted to, but because it was the only option left,’ Ear wrote on a GoFundMe for her mother’s new life.
Regina had been working to gain citizenship, and meanwhile had raised her family and worked as a garment worker in the city’s Fashion District.
As Regina boarded her flight, her family drove to Tijuana, Mexico, to say goodbye, as she leaves behind three children and three grandchildren.
‘She was afraid they would come to her house,’ Ear told KTLA 5. ‘She was afraid to drive, to be pulled over and taken in.’
‘The worst part was saying goodbye to her kids and grandchildren. That was the hardest part for her.’
She said that her mother decided not to take advantage of Trump’s Project Homecoming, which offers financial aid including government funded flights and an ‘incentive’ of $1,000 to those who self deport.
‘It honestly feels like a trap,’ Ear said. ‘[Especially] once we give up that control to somebody else, to the government that is obviously not on our side.’
Ear videoed her mother’s journey and posted it on social media, where it went viral.
The compilation of videos shows her family getting up at 5am with her mom in the back of the car.
Regina and her family were videoed journeying into Tijuana and spending time in the airport together before her flight.
‘She made this decision months ago and even though it breaks my heart, I’d rather see her leave than live here in fear,’ Ear wrote on Instagram.
‘She is the most Americanized person I know and a total diva! She has spent most of her life in the US, so this is going to be a huge adjustment for her.’
Regina was seen tearfully hugging her family members in heartbreaking moments throughout the video as they said goodbye.
‘I just hugged her so close to me,’ Ear told KTLA 5. ‘I kissed her. I kept telling her, “Don’t worry, Mom. I’m going to see you very soon”.’
After landing in Mexico, Regina was able to see her mother for the first time in 22 years.
A father-of-four self-deported to Mexico with his American wife and four US born children due to the same fears harbored by Regina and her family.
Cenobio Feliciano-Galeana crossed into the United States illegally when he was 18, and since then has built his life in America.
But despite his children and his wife, he was unable to obtain citizenship or a green card.
Now, following the ruthless crackdown on illegal immigrants and the looming threat of ICE agents, Cenobio made the decision to self-deport.
At the end of the year, Ashlee, Cenobio’s wife, plans to move with her four children to a country they have never known, just to keep the family together.
Since they began their relationship, Ashlee says she and her family have been trying to get Cenobio through the process to gain legal status in the U.S., with no luck.
Several lawyers and thousands of dollars later, she says not even being married to a U.S. citizen helps Cenobio’s cause.
‘If I had a penny for every time somebody has said that, I’d have the money to pay for those lawyers,’ she said.
She says the lawyers initially told them they had a fifty-fifty chance of getting Cenobio lawful permanent residence or citizenship.
After the Trump administration was sworn in, she says she was told they had no chance.
Their options were to stay and risk it—or have Cenobio self-deport and try again in 10 years.
‘We have a six-year-old down to a nine-month-old baby. Ten years without a father? That is huge,’ Ashlee said.
For her, moving with him is the only option. Staying behind in the U.S. was out of the question.
‘Wait for one day them to come into my home and take my husband away like a criminal and have my kids have to see that. And I decided that was not a choice I was willing to live with,’ she said.
Ashlee says Cenobio never committed a crime. His name doesn’t bring anything up in the Utah court system. His only offense was being caught at the border twice and crossing illegally.
That itself is a crime—one that Ashlee acknowledges but doesn’t believe should be a life sentence.
‘He was born on the wrong side of a line. He came here because he was starving. You know, what would you do if he truly went days without eating, starving? Where would your desperation lead you?’ she said.
The Trump Administration has heavily pushed for any illegal immigrants in the United States to self-deport, instead of being detained by ICE officials.
United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem gave a stern warning to any undocumented immigrants in an pushing the deportations and arrests of illegal immigrants.
‘Leave now. If you don’t, we will find you and deport you,’ Noem said. ‘You will never return.’
Self-deportation typically allows an individual to reenter the United States without the bans that follow from an official deportation.
According to ICE, a bar on reentry for a specific period of time can be imposed once proceedings before a Department of Justice immigration judge take place.
‘ICE may agree to seek dismissal of removal proceedings if you prove you left the US on your own – and that way, you may be able to avoid getting a final order of removal [and the negative consequences that come with it],’ the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement website said.
The reentry ban can range from five to twenty years depending on the severity of the crime.
Individuals who were removed after a short unlawful stay in the US can face a ban of five years, while repeat offenders who have been removed multiple times can face around a twenty year ban.
Anyone who was involved in ‘serious criminal activity’ or those who reentered the US illegally following deportation can face a permanent ban.