An 39-year-old immigrant who has lived in the US since he was ten was deported to Mexico this Monday.
On Martin Luther King Day, the Trump administration saw fit to deport 39-year-old, Jorge Garcia, who was brought into the US when he was ten years old by an undocumented relative. Garcia, who is the father of a 12-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter, departed from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The landscaper from Lincoln Park, Michigan, would go back to Mexico after thirty years of residency in the US.
According to media sources, immigration courts issued a removal order on Garcia in 2009, however, his deportation was halted during the Obama administration. While his family tried to find ways of getting him a legal status, President Trump was cracking down on undocumented immigrants. Garcia is the latest victim of Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants, a move criticized by many people as being too excessive.
Garcia and his wife, Cindy Garcia, an American citizen and retired autoworker, got married 15 years ago after they first met in Detroit. According to Garcia’s wife, an attempt was made in 2005 to get him legal status however that eventually led them to deportation proceedings. Even after the birth of their children, Garcia had to check in with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials (ICE), states his wife. The 39-year-old’s deportation was stayed multiple times during the Obama administration, however, he was too old to qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) which President Obama created. This policy was designed to protect children of undocumented immigrants from being deported. As of June 15, 2012, any immigrant who is 31 or younger can qualify for DACA status, while anyone older than 31 is exempt.
Another Obama era-policy that may have helped Garcia, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, was created to protect undocumented adult immigrants with children who were American citizens or lawful residents. That policy, however, was blocked in court later on.
Garcia’s family asked ICE if they could postpone his deportation to see if the government can eventually pass DACA legislation. ICE said that Garcia could remain in the US until the holidays were over, with a scheduled deportation planned for January 15.
“His case needs to be looked at individually because he deserves to be here in a country that he’s known, not in Mexico,” said Cindy Garcia.
Image Source: Flickr
Roxanne Briean
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