As Southern California’s immigration enforcement efforts continue amid President Trump’s plans to strengthen targets in democratic cities like Los Angeles, one grandmother follows new trends in the immigrant community.
Refusing to share her last name for safety reasons, Regina boarded her plane this month, leaving behind three adult children and three grandchildren.
“As soon as she crossed the corner, it broke down,” Regina’s daughter Julie said after saying a tearful farewell at the airport. “I had to make sure she was good, and that’s when it all fell.”
Regina had planned to repatriate for months, fearing the massive deportation promised by President Trump.
Even on the day of departure, the family was on the edge when they crossed the border into Mexico before Regina boarded the plane from the Mexican airport.
“Even driving there, I was worried,” Julie said.
Regina rushed to leave Los Angeles a few hours after a massive immigration operation took place in downtown Los Angeles.
“She started seeing more raids and more raids start and saying, ‘I have to do this now,'” Julie recalls a conversation with her mother.
Regina is said to be a “tough” woman. The “tough” woman illegally crossed the border at the age of 15 in order to find a better life.
While raising her family, Regina never gets handouts and always works hard to provide them to her family, Julie said of her mother.
“Mexicans will work until they can’t,” Julie said.
Regina’s self-report has one advantage. She eventually begins to see her mother for the first time in decades.
Since Regina returned to Mexico, her daughters have been with her almost every day. The patriarch looks strong until he is asked about missing her child.
“If you ask me about my family, I can’t speak,” Regina said, restraining her tears. She said it was difficult to separate from her family despite knowing that her children would travel to visit.
A few days after Regina’s self-report, her children in Los Angeles wonder if they made the right decision.
“It’s difficult, but we’re still hanging out there,” Julie said.
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