Bill would reunite families forced to split
Measure inspired by man caught in Trump’s crackdown
U.S. Rep. Al Green on Friday proposed legislation to make it easier for deported immigrants with American families to legally return, speaking at a news conference with the family of Jose Escobar, a Houston man whose deportation last year became emblematic of President Donald Trump’s tough immigration policies.
“This family has been torn apart by the government,” said Green, a Houston Democrat. “This bill would allow the Escobars of this country to return without the enormous amount of red tape.”
Escobar, who participated in the news conference via computer from his aunt’s house in El Salvador, qualifies for a green card through his American wife, Rose. But congressional prohibitions keep immigrants who have been here without authorization from returning legally for as long as 10 years.
The legislation, co-sponsored by Illinois Democrat Luis Gutierrez, would allow immigrants with spouses or children who are U.S. citizens to apply for readmission without being subject to the bans.
His son Walter, 8, joined the
conference, reaching out to touch his mother when she cried and vowing to stay strong.
“Even when this family is broke, we’ll still keep fighting,” the boy said.
The legislation stands little chance of passing in the current political climate. Lawmakers in Washington have been unable to agree on any immigration policy, not even on protecting young immigrants who came here illegally as children, an idea that largely has bipartisan support.
And Friday, the Trump administration further ramped up its crackdown on immigration, announcing a zero-tolerance policy of criminally prosecuting all those who cross the border illegally.
Though simply being here without authorization is a civil offense, improper entry is a federal misdemeanor. But most federal prosecutors limit which migrants they prosecute, because the sheer volume of offenders requires enormous resources, both in time and expense.
The new practice would swell already overburdened federal dockets at the border and revives a controversial program known as Operation Streamline that started in Del Rio more than a decade ago.
Deported with $20
Green said he understood that passing his proposed legislation would be difficult, and likely would take time. But he said many on Capitol Hill also felt compassionately about constituents like Escobar who qualify to legally remain here but are caught in a Catch-22.
By law, they must apply for their green cards at U.S. embassies in their countries of birth. But as soon as they leave, they are prevented from coming back by the 3- and 10-year restrictions that punish those who have ever been here illegally, no matter how briefly.
“I’m used to providing for my family,” Escobar, 32, said through the shaky internet connection. “It’s hard for me because I’m away from my kids. It’s been a year, and a lot of things have changed.”
Escobar was one of the first immigrants to be deported after Trump took office and announced everyone here illegally would be a priority for deportation. During the last two years of his administration, President Barack Obama, who removed a record number of immigrants, had focused instead on those who were criminals or had recently arrived here.
Escobar’s case made headlines across the country.
He came here from El Salvador as a teen, following his mother to Houston when he was 13 and qualifying for a temporary protected status for residents of certain countries that had been ravaged by natural disasters. Unbeknownst to him, he eventually lost his legal status through a paperwork error.
By the time he realized the mistake and married Rose, his high school sweetheart, his lawyer told him it was too late. The government had already initiated deportation proceedings because of his lapsed legal status. If he applied for a green card through his wife, he would likely have to spend years outside the country waiting to adjust his status.
Not knowing what to do, the Escobars continued with their life. They had two children, Walter and Carmen, and bought a middle-class home in Pearland where Escobar helped run a paint company and juggled a contracting business on the side.
Eventually, immigration agents found him, but Obama’s administration in 2012 granted Escobar a temporary reprieve, allowing him to stay here legally as long as he committed no crimes and checked in with the administration every year.
He did as he was told, and then the rules changed.
Soon after Trump’s announcement, Escobar arrived at his annews nual immigration appointment in February 2017, only to be quickly deported with just $20 in his pocket.
‘Fight until the end’
At the news conference Friday, Rose Escobar tearfully pleaded for compassion.
“It’s been a year already, and I am hurting. My children are hurting,” she said. “I’m working overtime, I’m selling my husband’s equipment. … I’m a daughter, I’m a mother, I’m a wife. All I want is my family back.”
She said the last year has almost broken her family, and she has been overwhelmed with hateful comments on social media for “not doing things the right way,” when what, she asks, could she have done?
“I’m not ordering a burger,” she said. “I am doing things the right way and look how long it’s taking.”
Carmen, 3, no longer wears diapers and speaks in full sentences, all precious developments her father has had to watch through an iPad screen from thousands of miles away.
In the coastal town of La Union, he stays in his aunt’s house, too afraid to wander the streets where gangs prey particularly on those they don’t know. Such violence has made El Salvador one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
Walter speaks shyly about his father.
“What I miss about my dad is when he makes me food I like,” the boy said. “I miss … my dad taking me to school.”
He looked at the cameras, standing tall.
“Even when Donald Trump is still here,” the boy said, “we’re going to fight until the end.”