Alejandra Juarez has been forced to leave her husband, who is a Marine veteran, and their two American children in Florida after being deported by the U.S government.
The 38-year-old mother has lived in the United States illegally for almost two decades and despite efforts by Florida lawmakers the deportation order stands, according to a Reuters report.
Juarez was caught attempting to enter the United States illegally in 1998, which prohibited her from applying for legal immigration status in the future, according to U.S. Rep. Darren Soto.
She illegally reentered the United States two years later and married Temo Juarez, an Iraq war veteran, who was born in Mexico and became a naturalized citizen.
The mother of two was reportedly caught during a 2013 traffic stop and was ordered to check in every six months with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
Her lawyers blame Trump’s zero tolerance policy on illegal immigration for her deportation. While Obama also had strict immigration laws, Juarez lawyers stated that the Obama administration changed the guidelines in 2014, which made cases like Alejandra Juarez a low priority.
Alejandra Juarez was photographed at the airport awaiting her deportation flight with her two daughters, Pamela, 16, and Estela, 9, and husband Temo Juarez and made an appeal to Trump’s reported love for veterans.
Alejandra Juarez’s husband served in the U.S. military 3 times and voted for President Trump — now she’s being deported and separated from her family pic.twitter.com/cP7RuiIUCT
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) August 3, 2018
“Mr. President, you deporting me is not going to hurt just me; you’re making a veteran suffer. You always say you love veterans. If you really love veterans, why didn’t you pardon me?”
Her Mexican-born husband told reporters that he voted for President Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential elections.
US Marine Temo Juarez didn’t figure his vote for President Trump would affect his family personally. That was before the enforcement of Trump’s ‘‘zero tolerance’’ policy toward illegal immigration. https://t.co/dyB7LXNvx0 pic.twitter.com/iCd6tnVScw
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) August 4, 2018
The Juarez family will likely be split apart as the Reuters report states that her youngest daughter will move to Mexico with her while her husband and older daughter remains in the United States.
Her husband Temo Juarez revealed in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel that he doesn’t blame President Trump for splitting his family and describes himself as a “super conservative.”
Although Trump frequently touted his hardline immigration approach, Juarez did not think the President will quicken his wife’s deportation. “I ate my words,” he said. “Obviously, when Trump came in, everybody is [a] priority now.”
While the Marine veteran was hopeful, he revealed that he knew there was a chance that his wife will face deportation.
“I knew there was a small possibility it could happen, but I thought there was a bigger chance she could fix her situation … I still love this country,” Juarez told the newspaper, adding that he understands his wife “violated our law.”