DETROIT (WSVN) – A husband and father of two lived in the United States for 30 years. On Monday, 39-year-old Jorge Garcia was deported to Mexico after being deemed too old to apply for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
According to Fox 8, Garcia was brought to the U.S. illegally when he was 10 years old. He had arrived one year before he was able to qualify for DACA.
Jorge Garcia’s wife, Cindy Garcia, said that her husband has been in contact with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the last 13 years.
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“In total, we’ve given immigration over $125,000,” Cindy Garcia said in the Fox 8 report. “We’ve never done anything without permission from immigration. Because any time you leave the city, you have to tell them where you are going.”
Garcia is a landscaper, lived in Detroit, father of two children — 12-year-old Jorge Jr. and 15-year-old Soleil –and, according to his wife, is without a criminal record or any traffic tickets.
All of that did not matter, as ICE agents told the Garcias in November that their father/husband will be deported on Jan. 15.
“It’s a nightmare,” Cindy Garcia said. “They’re sad. They’re depressed. They don’t really comprehend everything that’s going on. All they know is their dad is gone and they don’t know when they’re going to see him again.”
Cindy Garcia added that the moment became real for her and her children when ICE agents took her husband away while hugs were being shared.
“That’s when the tears just started flowing because we knew that was going to be it. There wasn’t much more that we could do,” Cindy Garcia said.
According to CNN, Garcia was facing a removal order since 2009, but he received an extension under the Obama administration.
Now, Jorge resides in Mexico City, Fox 8 reports, and his wife has requested a hearing to get him back to the U.S.
But his wife said that hearing could take 18 months.
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