“They’ve Destroyed My Family” – The Story Of A Mother’s Last-Minute Deportation
Miguel Torres, whose wife Glenda Cardenas Caballero was deported in August. Photo by Diane Orson for Connecticut Public Radio
Miguel Torres said his wife’s deportation didn’t come as a complete surprise. Glenda Cardenas Caballero was undocumented and had a order of deportation from 2005. He said the family had tried for years to find a way for her to stay. “They tried to deport her three times,” he said. “But then we continued doing the appeals. We’ve been always complying with every single detail.”
But it wasn’t enough.
More than seven percent of children in public and private schools in the U.S. – millions of kids nationwide – live with a parent who is undocumented. That’s according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data. These children live with constant insecurity and fear of separation, and the emotional consequences when a parent is deported.
In Caballero’s case, it wasn’t until she was at the curb at JFK airport that she learned she would actually have to leave. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers took her away, as her children watched.