Maria de Jesús Estrada Juárez, left, kisses her daughter Damaris Bello after being reunited.Mother Jones illustration; Courtesy Damaris Bello
Maria de Jesús Estrada Juárez didn’t think she had anything to worry about when she went in for a green card appointment in February. She had evidence of her 27 years living in the United States. She had no criminal history. And she had valid DACA status, which protects undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation. But during the interview, Estrada Juárez was told she had a deportation order from when she entered the country decades before. She had no idea about it. Immigration agents arrested Estrada Juárez in front of her 22-year-old daughter, Damaris Bello, and within less than 24 hours, she was deported to Mexico. “The feeling I got was they just wanted me out as soon as possible,” the Sacramento mother told me over Zoom last week. In March, Estrada Juárez sued the federal government, challenging her deportation as unlawful because she was protected under DACA. A federal judge agreed and ordered the Trump administration to bring her back in seven days. Estrada Juárez is now back in California with Bello. But readjusting to life post-deportation hasn’t been easy, and mother and daughter are reeling from the forced separation. Estrada Juárez still has nightmares about being in Mexico and dreads leaving the house. Bello gets anxious when she hears a knock on the door, fearing it might be immigration enforcement. “I think a lot of people assume that the story ends when your loved one comes back,” she said. “But that’s just the beginning of when the healing process starts.” You can read my full piece about the case and watch the interview with mother and daughter here. —Isabela Dias |
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