After missing an immigration court hearing because she was recuperating after giving birth to premature infant twins via emergency C-section, a Texas mother claims she was wrongfully deported to Mexico and forced to leave the country with her four children.
Since coming to Mexico, Ashley and Allison, two American citizens who were born in Houston, have been suffering from bronchitis and pneumonia and frequently require oxygen masks to breathe, Salazar-Hinojosa told Noticias Telemundo in Spanish.
“Seeing my daughters ill makes me feel horrible and sad,” she remarked.
The twins’ 35-week preterm birth on September 13 marked the beginning of the series of occurrences, according to the family.
“An emergency C-section was required for me. My children were born too soon. “My hemorrhage made me very sick,” Salazar-Hinojosa stated.
According to an affidavit from Arellano obtained by NBC News Thursday night, Salazar-Hinojosa’s husband, Federico Arellano, called a phone number provided to the family by immigration services to let them know what was going on because the mother was due to appear in immigration court on October 9.
According to Arellano’s affidavit, the family was informed over the phone that the immigration hearing would be rescheduled.
Arella informed reporters in Houston during a news conference on Monday that his wife was instructed by doctors to recuperate at home, which is why she was unable to attend the hearing on October 9.
Salazar-Hinojosa, 23, and Arellano, 24, have been wed since 2019. Salazar-Hinojosa is a Mexican national, and Arellano is a Houston-born American citizen. Along with twins Ashley and Allison, the couple also has a Mexican-born 2-year-old son named Federico. Yitzel, his wife’s 7-year-old daughter, was also born in Mexico, and Arellano is her stepfather.
According to Arellano’s affidavit, the family was contacted by immigration authorities on December 6 and instructed to come to an office in Greenspoint, Texas, four days later to talk about Salazar-Hinojosa’s case.
Salazar-Hinojosa claimed that she thought the visit would be like any other normal appointment she had made in the past when she came with her husband and four kids.
Isaias Torres, the family’s lawyer, claims that instead, immigration officials detained Salazar-Hinojosa and transferred her and her four children to Mexico. However, according to Arellano’s declaration, when he requested permission from immigration officials to keep the twins, they said, “‘NO’ that the babies were too young and should stay with their mother.”
“We had nothing with us—no diapers, no clothes, nothing. Salazar-Hinojosa told Noticias Telemundo, “We had nothing with us.” “They didn t let me make any calls to my family, they took my phone away from me, they snatched it out of my hands.”
Arellano made an effort to step in for his family. Salazar-Hinojosa said that her husband pleaded with immigration officials to spare him and his family.
“He wanted to see if we could get a lawyer to see what we could do, and they said no, that they had to take us now,” recalled Salazar-Hinojosa. Immigration officials then demanded that she sign the documents for her deportation, she added.
“They threatened to arrest my husband and fine him if I didn’t sign the deportation forms and all that,” Salazar-Hinojosa said, adding that she was worried they would do so if she didn’t sign; “they forced me.”
The mother told Noticias Telemundos that she was afraid her husband would find it difficult to manage work and childcare on his alone after the family discovered they could not stop Salazar-Hinojosa’s deportation on such short notice.
On Wednesday, NBC News was informed by immigration officials that Salazar-Hinojosa had been deported from Texas.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement told NBC News that it had only legally deported Salazar-Hinojosa, despite reports from other media outlets that the mother, the twins, and the other two children had been deported.
“American citizens are not deported by ICE. According to an ICE representative, parents have the last say over whether or not their minor children who are citizens of the United States leave the country with their parents.
Salazar-Hinojosa entered the country illegally on June 28 through the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas, according to ICE. According to the spokeswoman, she was released on June 29 while her immigration proceedings were still ongoing under the Alternatives to Detention program.
According to the spokesman, a judge from the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Salazar-Hinojosa to be removed after she failed to appear at the hearing on October 9. A request for comment from DOJ was not answered.
“This case shouldn’t have gone to this extreme,” Torrest told WOAI. He was not given the opportunity to choose from the legal options that were available.
Noticias Telemundos was informed by Silvia Mintz, a second lawyer for Arellano and his family, that she feels “ICE officers abused their discretion, because Cristina is not a criminal, the children are newborns, and this could have been resolved with a motion to reopen the case.”
Arellano attempted to clarify, but ICE authorities stopped him, Mintz and Torres told KHOU.
According to Torres, they were taken aback and astonished to find themselves apart.
In order to determine whether Salazar-Hinojosa and her children are eligible to return to the United States on parole, the lawyers have stated that they intend to submit immigration applications and a complaint to the Office of Inspector General. Months may pass during that process.
Republicans have attacked President Joe Biden, claiming that his policies have allowed illegal immigrants to cross the border. However, the Migration Policy Institute stated in June that Biden’s deportations were expected to overtake those of the first Trump administration.
After promising to carry out the biggest mass deportation operation in American history, Trump was elected president in November. Tim Homan, his choice to lead ICE, has stated that sending all of the families back is the best way to prevent family division under Trump’s plan.
Regardless of whether their parents are in the country illegally, people born in the United States are entitled to U.S. citizenship under the constitution, with the exception of certain foreign diplomats’ children.In a recent exclusive “Meet the Press” interview, Trump stated that he wants to revoke the assurance.
Over almost five years, ICE arrested 674, imprisoned 121, and removed 70 individuals that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined might be U.S. citizens, according to a 2021 report. ICE failed to maintain adequate records of deportations of U.S. citizens at the time, according to the GAO.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!