TIJUANA
In her first moments back in Mexico after more than 30 years away, Dulce Garcia laughed at how easily she was able to cross south.
It was a moment that Garcia thought would not be possible. It was also a moment she feared.
Garcia, 38, has lived most of her life as an immigrant illegally in the United States. Under normal circumstances, if she went to Mexico, she would not be able to return to her home in San Diego.
Because she came to the United States at age 4, she was able to enroll in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which temporarily shields so-called Dreamers who came to the United States as children from deportation and allows them to get two-year renewable work permits.
TIJUANA
In her first moments back in Mexico after more than 30 years away, Dulce Garcia laughed at how easily she was able to cross south.
It was a moment that Garcia thought would not be possible. It was also a moment she feared.
Garcia, 38, has lived most of her life as an undocumented immigrant in the United States. Under normal circumstances, if she went to Mexico, she would not be able to return to her home in San Diego.
Because she came to the United States at age 4, she was able to enroll in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program that allows young undocumented immigrants to get two-year renewable work permits and temporary protection from deportation. And, because Garcia is an immigration attorney and the executive director of the nonprofit Border Angels, she was able to convince the U.S. government that she needed to do work in Tijuana.
SAN DIEGO – Even after being deported from the United States and separated from her children and grandchildren, Rocio Rebollar Gomez never stopped believing in miracles — or praying for
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Even after being deported from the United States and separated from her children and grandchildren, Rocio Rebollar Gomez never stopped believing in miracles or praying for one of her own.
This week, her prayers were finally answered.
Rebollar Gomez was allowed to return to San Diego on Thursday about a year and a half after being forced to leave. Her case drew international attention in 2019 as her family pleaded with the U.S. government to give her permission to stay through a program for parents of active military members.
Her son, 1st Lt. Gibram Cruz, is an Army intelligence officer. He flew home from Ft. Hood to welcome his mother back into the United States. Because of his status in the military, he had not been allowed to cross the border to visit her after she was deported.
By KATE MORRISSEY | The San Diego Union-Tribune | Published: February 1, 2021 SAN DIEGO (Tribune News Service) Rocio Rebollar Gomez’s life now might look familiar to those who have been staying at home during the pandemic. She spends most of her time in a Tijuana, Mexico, house, where she rents a room and tries to keep her small business alive through phone calls and social media. She only interacts with her children and grandchildren over video chats and Zoom. She spent her birthday in December on FaceTime. But Rebollar Gomez is not staying at home at least not in the place she thinks of as home. And her life in 2020 and beyond would likely have looked like this even without the pandemic.