Iraq War veteran's wife deported to Mexico after wanting Trump to intervene

Alejandra Juarez "is alone today as she has no home yet" in Mexico, her attorney said after she was taken to an airport to return to her native Mexico.</s>KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The wife of an Iraq War veteran wiped away tears and held her young daughters as she said goodbye to her family at Orlando International Airport on Friday morning — not knowing the next time they would all be together.

Alejandra Juarez, who entered the United States illegally from Mexico more than 20 years ago, had pleaded publicly for President Donald Trump to stop her deportation. But a letter delivered to the White House this week by members of Congress wasn't enough to keep her with her husband, a naturalized American citizen, and their two American-born daughters.

"My mom is a good person and she's not a criminal," daughter Pamela, 16, told the media as she sobbed and covered her face.

Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., who was at the airport, said he told Juarez, 39, that he was sorry that she had to be deported under Trump' s "zero tolerance" immigration policy.

"We'll still be pursuing our request to the administration for her case, and we are not giving up despite this anti-immigration rhetoric," Soto told NBC News.

Juarez was flying back to Mexico alone, although her youngest daughter, Estela, 9, would later be joining her, said the family's attorney, Chelsea Nowel.

"She is on her way to Mexico where she has no support system and knows essentially no one," Nowel said in a text message.

Juarez had been living in Davenport, Florida, with her husband, Cuauhtemoc, also known as Temo, and their two daughters. Temo, who describes himself as a conservative who voted for Trump, had written his own letter to the president asking for a reprieve for his wife, reported Stars and Stripes.

Juarez said she was escaping violence in her home country when she crossed into the United States illegally. Three years later she met and married Temo in Florida.

“I came here illegally. I’m ashamed of it. I know I did something wrong,” Juarez told NBC News in an interview before she was deported. “I seriously thought that was the only exit out of a situation I was living in. I think that saved my life.”

Temo served in the U.S. Marine Corps and later joined the Army National Guard in Florida. He came to the U.S. from Mexico as a child and was naturalized days before he was deployed to Iraq. The couple has two daughters, ages 9 and 16, both born in the United States.

The office of Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., which represents the family's congressional district, earlier confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had taken Juarez's passport — foreshadowing her likely deportation.

“It’s common for ICE to take the passport to ensure the person has a valid travel document,” Nowel said at the time.

“It added an unnecessary amount of stress on Alejandra on what was already one of the worst days of her life,” she added.

Soto sent bipartisan letters on Wednesday addressed to Trump, the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security requesting a stay of removal.

There is an immigration policy for members of the military and their families called “parole in place” to “recognize the important sacrifices made by U.S. Armed forces members, veterans, enlistees, and their families." The Citizen and Immigration Services website says they provide “discretionary options such as parole in place or deferred action on a case-by-case basis.”

The Juarezes received a call Tuesday from their attorney saying ICE agreed to review her most recent “parole in place” application. But they have rejected her previous three applications, according to Stars and Stripes.

“I love this country. This country has given me great things because we have worked hard. But the America we are living in now is getting full of hate,” Juarez said.

She checked in regularly with immigration authorities during former President Barack Obama’s administration, and says she was always told she is not a criminal and has nothing to worry about.

Now, under Trump’s immigration policy, few exceptions are made for unauthorized immigrants — even in cases when a crime has not been committed.

“Before you enlist in the military, think it twice. Before you marry an immigrant, think it twice. Think if it’s really worth it for you to serve this country, because look how they treated me,” Juarez previously told NBC News, through tears.

She had said that if she were deported Friday, she would take daughter Estela with her to Mexico while her her other daughter, Pamela, stays with her father in Florida.

“It makes me sad, mainly because I tell my mom everything. And she always supports me … And now that I’m getting older I’m going to have more problems and issues that I’m going to need help with and I want my mom to be there with me," Pamela said.

The parents decided to take the younger daughter to Mexico because Temo travels for work and she is too young to take care of herself.

"I don’t really want to go to Mexico but I know I need to because I’m too young and also I want to go for my mom … because I don’t want her to be lonely,” Estela said.

She went on to say what she would tell Trump if gotten the chance: “I know my mom made a mistake and it was wrong, but he said he was going to deport criminals. My mom is not a criminal," the girl said. "She is a military spouse and a mom of two kids.”

Reporting by Carmen Sesin in Miami, Anthony Terrell in Tampa and Kissimmee and Erik Ortiz in New York; video by Jesse North.</s>Alejandra Juarez, the wife of a Iraq War combat veteran, was deported on Friday. YouTube

Alejandra Juarez, the wife of an Iraq War combat veteran, was deported on Friday after a desperate effort to remain in the US.

After being notified of her deportation date by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and with few options left, Alejandra recently wrote a letter to President Donald Trump pleading with him to let her stay in the US. She hoped her husband's war record might persuade the president to intervene.

But Alejandra's calls for leniency have seemingly gone unanswered and she boarded a plane at Orlando International Airport on Friday morning bound for Mexico, where she's originally from.

Prior to going through the security checkpoint at the airport on Friday, she offered a short message to Trump: "I hope this makes you happy," she said. "May God forgive you."

'They're punishing him for something that I did a long time ago'

Alejandra's husband, Sgt. Cuauhtemoc "Temo" Juarez, is a former Marine turned National Guardsman who fought in Iraq. She says the decision to deport her is disrespectful to her husband's service and status as a veteran.

"They're punishing him for something that I did a long time ago. His only mistake was marrying me," Alejandra told the Orlando Sentinel .

Temo Juarez is a Trump supporter and he's expressed regret about this in light of his wife's situation.

Alejandra and her husband have two children: Pamela, 16, and Estela, 8.

The Juarez's eldest daughter will remain in the US with her father, but Estela will soon join her mother in Mexico given Temo Juarez frequently travels for work.

Alejandra entered the US illegally in 1998 and never obtained legal status, even after she married her husband in 2000, who came to the US from Mexico as a child and become a naturalized citizen several days before he was deployed to Iraq.

When Alejandra first attempted to enter the US in 1998 she was caught and deported. At the time, she signed a document that immigration authorities said would help her avoid spending time behind bars, and has claimed she didn't realize it would also prohibit her from pursuing a permanent resident card, visa, or a path to naturalized citizenship in the future.

After being deported, Alejandra spent a short time in Mexico before crossing the border again and she's lived in the US ever since.

The Trump administration's immigration policies are hard on military families, too

In 2013, Alejandra was pulled over in a routine traffic stop and a search of her record revealed she was in the country illegally.

For many years, unauthorized immigrants who were spouses of members of the US military were not prioritized for deportation and in some cases had options to legally stay in the country. Hence, when Alejandra's illegal status was revealed in 2013, immigration authorities simply told her to check in twice a year.

But the relative leniency military spouses and dependents experienced in the past has rapidly dissipated under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy towards unauthorized immigrants in the US.

At present, there are roughly 11,800 current members of the US military who have spouses or family members facing deportation, according to analysis from American Families United, a non-profit immigration advocacy group

Under Trump, the government has increasingly rejected requests from veterans and their dependents for protection from deportation, data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services shows , and it seems Alejandra was no exception.

Alejandra has made attempts to stay in the US based on an option open to family of current or former service members known as "parole in place," but her most recent application was rejected. The document she signed when she was first caught in 1998 more or less barred her from being eligible.

'It was so devastating we couldn't even get the Trump Administration to work on this case'

As Alejandra departed the US on Friday, she and her family were joined by Rep. Darren Soto, a Democrat who represents the Florida district where the Juarez's live.

Soto in recent months sponsored legislation aimed at protecting military spouses from deportation, which was inspired in part by Alejandra's situation.

On Friday, Soto said, "It was so devastating that we couldn't even get the Trump Administration to work on this case with a military spouse who has done everything to help her husband serve this country."

Alejandra would not say where she's going in Mexico, which seemed to be linked to fears over her safety. She's originally from Mexico City, but fled because of a death threat and a dysfunctional family.

"I came here illegally. I'm ashamed of it. I know I did something wrong," Juarez told NBC News in a recent interview. "I seriously thought that was the only exit out of a situation I was living in. I think that saved my life."</s>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A family is splitting in two in Florida, where the wife of a former Marine is being deported after exhausting all her appeals.

Tears flowed as Alejandra Juarez and her younger daughter checked in for their flight to Mexico Friday at Orlando International Airport.

She said that if she could talk with President Donald Trump, she'd ask how he could let this happen, since her husband served the United States.

The 39-year-old woman lived in the U.S. for 20 years without trouble until a traffic stop in Davenport, Florida, exposed her legal status.

She's raised two American citizen daughters, ages 16 and 8, with her husband Temo Juarez, a naturalized citizen who runs a roofing business.

They decided to take the younger daughter to Mexico while the older stays with her husband.

This story has been corrected. Her name is Alejandra, not Alexjandra.</s>The 16-year-old American daughter of a former Marine held back tears as long as she could Friday before her family was split in two.

Her mother, Alejandra Juarez, was finally leaving for Mexico, rather than be sent off in handcuffs, after exhausting all her options to stop her deportation.

"My mom is a good person. She's not a criminal," Pamela said, cursing at the immigration agency before her mother checked in for her flight from Orlando International Airport.

Alejandra and Temo Juarez, a naturalized citizen who runs a roofing business, quietly raised Pamela and their 8-year-old daughter Estela in the central Florida town of Davenport until a 2013 traffic stop exposed her legal status.

Afterward, she regularly checked in with U.S. Immigration and Customs officials, which typically went after higher-priority targets like people with criminal records. Temo didn't figure his vote for President Donald Trump would affect them personally. That was before the enforcement of Trump's "zero tolerance" policy toward illegal immigrants.

Now, the Juarez family will be divided in two: Estela will join her mother in Mexico after she gets settled, while Temo cares for Pamela and pays the bills.

Alejandra petitioned to become a citizen in 2001, but was rejected because she was accused of making a false statement at the border when she sought asylum in 1998, said her attorney, Richard Maney. Asked about her citizenship, she had told authorities she had been a student in Memphis, Tennessee for a short time, and border officials apparently thought she was falsely claiming to be an American citizen, the attorney said.

U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., who couldn't get the votes in Congress for legislation to allow Juarez to remain, called her situation disgraceful. "We're not going to give up," he told her with a hug at the airport.

"It's an absolute disgrace by the Trump administration to be deporting a patriotic spouse," Soto said. "Her husband, Temo, served in the Marines ... while she was at home on the home-front, raising two young women. What justice does this serve?"

Alejandra ultimately decided to "self-deport" to Mexico, rather than turn herself in to be detained and then deported. After 20 years in the United States, she no longer has family or friends in the country, so she chose Merida, a city in the Yucatan where a small community of deported military spouses might help her.

Emotionally spent, she wiped her own tears behind sunglasses and stroked Pamela's hair while gripping Estela, who stood by her side. Temo said he preferred not to talk before they were all escorted through security for their final goodbyes.

A reporter asked what she would say to the president. Alejandra said she'd ask how Trump could let this happen, since he "always says he loves the military and he's doing everything for the military."

"My husband fought for this country three times. The administration, yourself, you think you are punishing me. You're not just punishing me," she said, referring to her family. "I hope this make him happy. Perhaps we will forgive him."

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>The wife of a former Marine and Iraq war veteran is set to be deported on Friday unless President Donald Trump intervenes.

Her husband, Cuauhtemoc “Temo” Juarez, who describes himself as a conservative who voted for Trump, wrote the president a letter that was delivered through his congressman asking for a reprieve, according to Stars and Stripes.

Alejandra Juarez, 39, entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico when she was 18, escaping violence in her home country. Three years later she met and married Juarez in Florida.

“I came here illegally. I’m ashamed of it. I know I did something wrong,” Alejandra told NBC News. “I seriously thought that was the only exit out of a situation I was living in. I think that saved my life.”

Temo served in the U.S. Marine Corps and later joined the Army National Guard in Florida. He came to the U.S. from Mexico as a child and was naturalized days before he was deployed to Iraq. The couple has a 9-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old daughter, both born in the U.S.

There is an immigration policy for members of the military and their families called “parole in place” to “recognize the important sacrifices made by U.S. Armed forces members, veterans, enlistees, and their families. The Citizen and Immigration Services website says they provide “discretionary options such as parole in place or deferred action on a case-by-case basis.”

On Tuesday, the family, who lives in Davenport, Fla., received a call from their attorney saying Immigration and Customs Enforcement agreed to review her most recent “parole in place” application, but they have rejected her previous three applications, according to Stars and Stripes.

“I love this country. This country has given me great things because we have worked hard. But the America we are living in now is getting full of hate,” Alejandra said.

Alejandra checked in regularly with immigration authorities, during former President Barack Obama’s administration, and says she was always told she is not a criminal and has nothing to worry about.

Now, with Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, few exceptions are made for unauthorized immigrants even in cases when a crime has not been committed.

“Before you enlist in the military, think it twice. Before you marry an immigrant, think it twice. Think if it’s really worth it for you to serve this country, because look how they treated me,” Alejandra said, through tears.

If she is deported Friday, she will take her 9-year-old daughter, Estela, with her to Mexico while her 16-year-old daughter, Pamela, stays with her father in Florida

“It makes me sad, mainly because I tell my mom everything. And she always supports me … And now that I’m getting older I’m going to have more problems and issues that I’m going to need help with and I want my mom to be there with me,” Pamela told NBC News.

The parents decided to take the younger daughter to Mexico because Temo travels for work and she is too young to take care of herself.

I don’t really want to go to Mexico but I know I need to because I’m too young and also I want to go for my mom … because I don’t want her to be lonely,” Estela said.

She went on to say that she would tell Trump “I know my mom made a mistake and it was wrong but he said he was going to deport criminals. My mom is not a criminal. She is a military spouse and a mom of two kids.”

The family of four is hoping for the best. “We are just going to hug each other at night very tight and pray more. Pray like we have never prayed before. Keep fighting and keep praying,” Alejandra Juarez said.</s>Former Marine's wife being deported to Mexico

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The wife of a former Marine is being deported after quietly living for years in Florida as an undocumented immigrant.

Alexjandra Juarez was boarding a plane to Mexico early Friday morning at Orlando International Airport after exhausting all her legal options to remain in the United States.

The 39-year-old woman has been in the U.S. for 20 years.

Juarez had lived in Davenport, Florida without any problems until 2013 when a traffic stop exposed her as an undocumented immigrant.

Her husband, Temo Juarez, is a naturalized citizen from Mexico and a former Marine who has a roofing business. Their two daughters, ages 16 and 8, are American citizens.

Juarez has decided to take her youngest daughter with her to Mexico while her husband and oldest daughter stay in Florida.</s>ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The U.S. government deported a Mexican woman on Friday who had lived in the country illegally for nearly two decades despite efforts by lawmakers to keep her in Florida with her husband, a Marine Corps veteran, and her two American children.

Alejandra Juarez, 38, was joined by her family and her congressman, Darren Soto, at Orlando International Airport for tearful farewells before her flight back to Mexico.

Juarez sought to illegally enter the United States in 1998 and was ordered to be removed, precluding her future chances at getting a visa or becoming a citizen, according to Soto and media interviews Juarez has given.

She illegally re-entered the country in 2000, the same year she married Temo Juarez, a Mexico native who went on to serve in the war in Iraq with the U.S. Marines and is now a naturalized U.S. citizen.

After being discovered in the country during a 2013 traffic stop, she had been required to check in every six months with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.

Her lawyers said to reporters she was only now being deported because of U.S. Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy on illegal immigration.

ICE, which did not respond to questions on Friday, has said that Juarez’s re-entry after her removal is considered a felony.

“Mr President, you deporting me is not going to hurt just me; you’re making a veteran suffer,” Alejandra Juarez said at the airport. “You always say you love veterans. If you really love veterans, why didn’t you pardon me?”

Her husband has told reporters that he voted for Trump in the 2016 election.

Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, was criticized by immigrant groups for deporting scores of non-citizen U.S. military veterans and for deporting immigrants whose only crime was re-entering the country after an earlier removal order.

Under new guidelines issued by the Obama administration in 2014, however, Juarez was considered a low priority for removal, her lawyers said.

Trump, a Republican, broadened ICE’s focus within days of taking office in 2017, saying no immigrants should be considered exempt from law enforcement.

Soto, a Democratic congressman, has sponsored a so-called private bill that would grant Juarez a visa if passed, a last-ditch, frequently unsuccessful recourse for immigrants who have exhausted other avenues.

Juarez has said her youngest daughter, who is nine years old, will come to live with her in Mexico because her husband frequently travels for his work running a flooring business.</s>Carrying her bags and weighed down with emotion, Alejandra Juarez arrived at Orlando International Airport to say goodbye to her two daughters and husband, a Marine veteran. Rather than be deported, Juarez — a U.S. military wife who illegally entered the country 20 years ago — headed back to Mexico.

Juarez was ordered to deport to Mexico under President Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy.

On Friday, she spoke directly to the president in Spanish.

“He thinks he’s punishing me, and maybe I deserve it for having come the way I did,” she said. “You’re not making me suffer more, you’re making a veteran suffer, and you always say you love veterans.”

Juarez has been in the country for two decades. She married Marine veteran Sgt. Temo Juarez, a naturalized American citizen who served two years in combat in Iraq. Their daughters were born in the U.S.

“My mom is a good person and she’s not a criminal so f*** ICE,” one of her daughters said.

Her undocumented status was exposed five years ago during a routine traffic stop. She was ordered to check in with ICE agents twice a year since she was considered a low priority case.

Her husband, who voted for Mr. Trump, said he didn’t think that vote would affect his family.

They’ve spent $20,000 on legal bills fighting to stay together.

Rep. Darren Soto said that fight is not over.

“What justice does this serve,” he said. “We couldn’t even get the Trump administration to work on this particular case with a military spouse who has done everything helping her husband’s service to this country.

CBS News reached out to ICE but did not hear back as of Friday evening.

The family’s plan is to split up, with the younger daughter joining their mother in Mexico and the older daughter staying with their father, who has said in reports that he doesn’t blame President Trump for his wife’s departure.</s>Firefighters struggling to contain a destructive Northern California wildfires found themselves facing a new blaze that erupted Tuesday and drove through a rural area near a national forest

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Wife of a former Marine is being deported to Mexico after quietly living for years in Florida as an undocumented immigrant.

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(Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP). Alejandra Juarez,38, left, says goodbye to her children, Pamela and Estela at the Orlando International Airport on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018 in Orlando, Fla. Juarez, the wife of a former Marine is preparing to self-dep...

(Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP). Alejandra Juarez,38, left, says goodbye to her children, Pamela and Estela at the Orlando International Airport on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018 in Orlando, Fla. Juarez, the wife of a former Marine is preparing to self-dep...

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(Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP). Alejandra Juarez,38, left, says goodbye to her children, Pamela and Estela at the Orlando International Airport on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018 in Orlando, Fla. Juarez, the wife of a former Marine is preparing to self-dep...

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The 16-year-old American daughter of a former Marine held back tears as long as she could Friday before her family was split in two.

Her mother, Alejandra Juarez, was finally leaving for Mexico, rather than be sent off in handcuffs, after exhausting all options to stop her deportation.

"My mom is a good person. She's not a criminal," Pamela said, cursing at the immigration agency before her mother checked in for her flight from Orlando International Airport.

Alejandra and Temo Juarez, a naturalized citizen who runs a roofing business, quietly raised Pamela and their 8-year-old daughter Estela in the central Florida town of Davenport until a 2013 traffic stop exposed her legal status.

Afterward, she regularly checked in with U.S. Immigration and Customs officials, which typically went after higher-priority targets like people with criminal records.

Temo didn't figure his vote for President Donald Trump would affect them personally. That was before the enforcement of Trump's "zero tolerance" policy toward illegal immigrants.

Now, the Juarez family will be divided in two: Estela will join her mother in Mexico after she gets settled, while Temo cares for Pamela and pays the bills.

Alejandra, 39, petitioned to become a citizen in 2001, but was rejected because she was accused of making a false statement at the border when she sought asylum in 1998, said her attorney, Richard Maney. He said she was asked about her citizenship and told authorities she had been a student in Memphis, Tennessee for a short time, so border officials apparently thought she was falsely claiming to be an American citizen.

"This is not going to be the last case like this," Maney said. "This is potentially the first of many. There are many military spouses in the same situation."

U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., who couldn't get the votes in Congress for legislation to allow Juarez to remain, called her situation disgraceful.

"We're not going to give up," he told her with a hug at the airport.

"It's an absolute disgrace by the Trump administration to be deporting a patriotic spouse," Soto said. "Her husband, Temo, served in the Marines ... while she was at home on the home-front, raising two young women. What justice does this serve?"

Alejandra ultimately decided to "self-deport" to Mexico, rather than turn herself in to be detained and then deported. After 20 years in the United States, she no longer has family or friends in the country, so she chose Merida, a city in the Yucatan where a small community of deported military spouses might help her.

Emotionally spent, she wiped her own tears behind sunglasses and stroked Pamela's hair while gripping Estela, who stood by her side. Temo said he preferred not to talk before they were all escorted through security for their final goodbyes.

A reporter asked what she would say to the president. Alejandra said she'd ask how Trump could let this happen, since he "always says he loves the military and he's doing everything for the military."

"My husband fought for this country three times. The administration, yourself, you think you are punishing me. You're not just punishing me," she said, referring to her family. "I hope this make him happy. Perhaps we will forgive him."

This story has been corrected. Her name is Alejandra, not Alexjandra.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The wife of a former US Marine and Iraq War veteran whose family publicly pleaded for President Donald Trump to intervene is deported to Mexico.