If you’ve been paying attention to the news cycle as of late, it’s clear to all that there are many issues and questions surrounding the current US immigration policies put in place by the Trump administration. One of the most controversial included the separation of families seeking asylum at borders. Another huge point of concern is the recent activity of ICE since President Trump came to office, specifically pertaining to increased deportation rates.
One of the people affected by the increased forced to remove illegal immigrants was Maria Mendoza-Sanchez. After living in Northern California for two decades, she was deported to Mexico only months after President Trump took office for being in the country illegally, along with her husband. She’s been in Mexico for over a year now but recently won her court appeal to return to her home and her children.
Mendoza-Sanchez is the mother of four children, one of which has protection under the DACA, and the three other children were born in the United States and hold citizenship. Before was deported, she was working at Oakland’s Highland Hospital as a cancer nurse for two years. She also has no criminal record, making her deportation all the more questionable.
After crossing the border with her husband and first child in 1994, Mendoza-Sanchez and her husband initially applied for protection through immigration courts and were granted work permits in the United States. A judge ordered the couple to be deported back in 2013, but the Obama administration stepped in and granted them protection for another few years while they focused on deporting more violent criminals who were in the country illegally.
Recently, Mendoza-Sanchez was granted a work visa after her trial at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. Once finalized, the work visa protects her for the next six years, sponsored by her previous employer, Oakland’s Highland Hospital in California, who advocated on her behalf in the trial. However, her husband will have to remain behind in Mexico once Mendoza-Sanchez receives her visa, which means her family will not yet be entirely reunited.
The question left remaining is how long it will take the court and immigration systems to actually physically give her the visa to return, and whether there will be any further hiccups in the process. Regardless of when she will be receiving her visa, she can rest assured and look forward to reuniting with her children.