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Families torn apart by immigration crackdown
A phone call from her husband moments after he left for work last October shattered Janie Pérez's life. Alejandro Pérez, an undocumented immigrant, whispered that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had arrived at their Missouri home. Within minutes, he was detained, setting off a chain of events that would force the couple and their two young daughters to relocate to Mexico-a country Janie had never visited and where she doesn't speak the language.
Love vs. legal barriers
Janie, a 29-year-old U.S. citizen, and Alejandro, who entered the country illegally at age seven, married in 2019 after meeting at a café. Despite consulting an immigration lawyer, they failed to secure legal status for Alejandro. The couple knew deportation was a risk but tried to live normally-until ICE agents arrested him last fall.
"I fell to my knees, crying uncontrollably," Janie recalled. "The idea of separating our family was inconceivable."
Detention and deportation
Alejandro spent five months in an ICE detention center, where Janie visited him through a glass partition. She described seeing him shackled at court hearings as "heart-wrenching." Born in Michoacán, Mexico, Alejandro first crossed the U.S. border with his father at age seven but later returned illegally to escape criminal gangs. He lived in the U.S. for 16 years without a criminal record.
"He was seeking opportunities and a life away from violence. That doesn't make him a criminal," Janie said.
Starting over in Mexico
Deported in March, Alejandro reunited with his family at a Mexican airport. "When Luna, our three-year-old, hugged him, I couldn't put the emotion into words," he said. But adjusting to life in Querétaro has been difficult. Janie struggles with Spanish, while Alejandro wakes at night questioning if their new reality is a dream. "I believe God has a purpose for us," he said.
Another couple's struggle
Raegan Klein and Alfredo Linares, another mixed-status couple, preemptively moved to Puerto Vallarta to avoid deportation. Alfredo, who lived in the U.S. for 20 years, left behind a thriving career as a chef. "Today is my last day in the U.S.," he wrote tearfully on social media. Though they dream of opening a restaurant, financial hurdles and language barriers have made their first year challenging.
"Leaving was necessary, but it's been hard," Raegan admitted.
Policy impact
Since President Donald Trump's 2025 re-election, deportations have surged, affecting an estimated 1.1 million U.S. citizens married to undocumented spouses. While the Department of Homeland Security prioritizes deporting immigrants with criminal records, data shows fewer than 38% of deportees have convictions. For families like the Pérezes, the choice is stark: separation or exile.
