Texas Man Fights to Reunite with Family After Deportation to Mexico

 

A Texas man is battling to bring his wife and children back to the United States after they were unexpectedly deported to Mexico by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Federico Arellano Jr., a U.S. citizen, was devastated when his wife, Christina Salazar, and their four children, including newborn twins, were detained on December 11 and put on a plane to Reynosa, Mexico.

Salazar, 23, had given birth to the twins just three months earlier in Houston. According to the family’s lawyers, the deportation was particularly harsh as Salazar and her children were sent to a city where they had no contacts or means of support. They were reportedly not allowed to take their coats during the cold night of their detention at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and they were left without any assistance or guidance in Reynosa.

Under U.S. law, the twins are U.S. citizens by birthright, as they were born in the country and one of their parents is a citizen. Salazar, however, was born in Mexico and had been awaiting an immigration hearing with her two older children. Arellano Jr. explained to local media that the family missed an immigration hearing on October 9 due to Salazar's recovery from an emergency C-section after the birth of the twins.

The family had informed the court of Salazar's medical condition, and according to their lawyers, they were told the hearing would be rescheduled. However, they later received a call from an immigration official instructing them to meet in Houston, where Salazar and her children were arrested. The family did not have legal representation at the time of the arrest, but they have since been represented by immigration attorneys Isaias Torres and Silvia Mintz.

Torres criticized the deportation, stating that the situation should never have escalated this far, and there were legal alternatives available that were not presented to the family. "They thought they were complying with the system, but it turns out they were not," Torres said.

Arellano Jr. is now fighting to bring his family back to the U.S. to go through the proper legal immigration process. ICE and the Department of Justice have not responded to requests for comment on the case.