No deportation relief for couple; family to split up
When Oakland nurse Maria Mendoza-Sanchez noticed an incoming call Tuesday afternoon from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the mother of four waved her family into her bedroom and put the phone on speaker.
She knew there was a chance, albeit a small one, that she would receive an 11th-hour piece of good news — one that would spare her from having to split up her family by moving to her native Mexico with her husband and youngest child Wednesday under a federal deporta-
tion order.
But Feinstein, D-Calif., told Mendoza-Sanchez, as she stood surrounded by loved ones, that immigration authorities had denied the request for a stay for her and her husband, who have lived in the U.S. for more than two decades but do not have legal status.
“She said she was sorry she couldn’t do anything,” Mendoza-Sanchez said. The room fell quiet. “I’m already tired of fighting, fighting, fighting,” she said. “What can I do? I did everything I could and I’m exhausted. This has been a battle that took everything out of me.”
The couple and their 12-yearold son, Jesus, who is a U.S. citizen by birth, will catch a flight to Mexico City Wednesday evening — a flight they had pushed back one day in hopes of winning a late reprieve from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.
They will start a new life while leaving behind daughters, ages 16, 21 and 23. The plan is for the older girls to raise the youngest, seeing her through two more years of high school.
The family’s attorney, Carl Shusterman, said Tuesday’s denial of the stay request, which had been filed Friday, was a “tragedy.” He said ICE officials had indicated they “couldn’t make an exception for her. If they did, they would have to make an exception for other people, too.”
ICE officials did not comment Tuesday, but an agency spokeswoman defended the deportation order last week, saying the family’s case had gone through a lengthy review in immigration courts and, “neither of these individuals has a legal basis to remain in the U.S.”
Mendoza-Sanchez is a nurse in the oncology and cardiology wing of Highland Hospital, and neither she nor her husband, truck driver Eusebio Sanchez, has a criminal record. Their removal after many years reflects the contours of an immigration crackdown under the Trump administration, in which nearly all immigrants without documentation are eligible for deportation.
One immigration expert said the denial of the stay was indicative of clear shifts in the government’s approach to deportation. In past cases that received attention from the media and opposition from local politicians, ICE would often change course, fearing negative publicity, said Pratheepan Gulasekaram, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law.
ICE “is sending a message with this removal,” he said. “Everybody is potentially a target.”
In May, the couple were told by immigration officials that they had three months to arrange their travel to Mexico, and they decided the best option was to split up the family. The two younger daughters are U.S. citizens, while the older daughter, Vianney, is protected by the government’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Feinstein, who met with the family last week after reading a front-page Chronicle story about the case, said she would introduce a private bill in September to help the family gain permanent residence. However, such bills are rarely signed into law.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf on Tuesday called on ICE to reverse the deportation, saying Mendoza-Sanchez “represents the best of Oakland.”
At Mendoza-Sanchez’s home, everything was set for the big move. Duffel bags, backpacks and suitcases lined the living room floor, ready to be packed into a van and taken to the airport. But by delaying the flight, the family gained a little more time together.
“They’re not leaving today at least,” said the 21-year-old daughter, Melin, a UC Santa Cruz senior. “We have one more day with our parents.”
Her mother recounted that as she worked her regular night shift at the hospital Saturday, a patient facing surgery told her, “Can you believe what’s happening to this nurse here? Maria? It’s horrible.”
Mendoza-Sanchez said she laughed and responded, “That’s me! I’m that nurse!”
The patient was surprised, and followed up: “How are you able to tell me jokes and try to keep me calm while you have all of this going on?”
“This is my passion,” Mendoza-Sanchez recalled telling the patient. “I’m doing what I love. Whenever I’m at work, I leave whatever is happening to me outside.”
After a nap following Feinstein’s Tuesday call, MendozaSanchez sent a message to her nursing colleagues, with whom she had become close. Many of them attended a rally Monday at the hospital to support her.
“You are the most beautiful friends anyone could ask for. Working with you has been a wonderful experience. I wish you guys the best in everything you do. I will miss you very much,” she wrote. “I am sorry if I caused any kind of emotional pain. God bless you guys.”