"This will be the first Christmas without his dad. I am standing because God is very big"

Marisela Hernández and her two children Juan Pablo and Ángel will spend in Los Angeles, the saddest Christmas of their lives, separated from Juan Guzmán, her husband and the father of a family, who was deported to Mexico at the beginning of the year.

Less than 200 miles, in Tijuana, Juan dejected by sadness, has asked to work those days to mask the pain of family separation that is exacerbating these holidays.

Related: ICE arrests woman from Southern California who did not renew her DACA for fear

“It has been a very difficult year. Juan was the main provider of the home. When he took it, migration not only left a home full of sadness but put him in financial troubles. I got a job cleaning a store in the San Fernando Valley. They only give me 22 hours of work a week. I get paid the minimum wage. A month, the check comes out between $ 1,100 and $ 1,200. Rent payment 935 dollars, ”says Marisela.

Juan García was deported to Mexico in early March. (Photo provided).
Juan Guzmán was deported to Mexico at the beginning of March this year. (Photo provided).

Marisela is very distressed because this will be the first Christmas that her children will not have gifts. Juan Pablo is 13 years old and suffers from autism; Angel is 11 years old.

"Juan Ángel asked me, if I can buy him a gift. "I'm going to see millet," I said. But I can not. Or I pay the rent or buy them gifts", He says.

In addition to despair over family separation, Marisela's biggest challenge has been the economic one. “I have a stressful time. As much as I stretch what I earn, it does not reach. Even if I want to give my children a gift, I can't, ”he confesses.

If you want to help Marisela's children, you can make a donation by clicking on the GoFundMe account opened for them.

Juan is 39 years old. He was deported on March 11 after living 25 years in the United States. He had emigrated at age 14. In Los Angeles he married Marisela Hernández with whom he had his two children Juan Pablo and Ángel.

Juan was arrested on Thursday, January 31, at 7:30 in the morning in Pacoima in the San Fernando Valley when he took his son Juan Pablo to school. The child witnessed how the agents of the Migration and Customs Service took his father under arrest.

Marisela Hernández with her son Juan Angel who suffers from autism. (Aurelia Ventura / The Opinion).

After several weeks of detention, he was deported. Juan was arrested by ICE because he re-entered the country after being deported in 2000.

Juan considers that ICE detected that he was in the country of return, when they learned that he obtained his driver's license under the AB60 law that authorizes in California the document for undocumented persons.

Marisela says that the children lowered their grades at school after deportation from their father. "The therapies have helped them a lot to deal with separation," he says.

But still he says that the children have not fully recovered. It's going to be a year since they see their parent.

"This will be the first Christmas without his dad. I stand because God is very big. Right now I am very agripated, but that's how I'm going to work. I can't afford to miss", He says.

And he recognizes that at times he gets very desperate. “I have to tighten my belly, and I feel very bad to see the children who walk with broken shoes. A fortnight my husband sent me all his check of what he earned in a week in Mexico, and when the pesos were converted into dollars, 52 dollars were made, ”she says.

Marisela Hernández has spent a year full of stress since her husband was deported to Mexico. (Aurelia Ventura / The Opinion).

“The truth is that here, and my husband there in Tijuana, we are desperate. He wants to be with the kids, ”he says.

Juan lives in Tijuana in a brother's house. He got a job as a security guard, earning the minimum wage.

"I feel sad. I need my children and my wife. I get really sick of thinking that my sick wife has to go to work, ”she trusts The opinion Through a telephone interview. He adds that it has taken a lot of work to adapt to life in Mexico, especially since he does not have his birth certificate. "That made it difficult for me to get my driver's license and my voter card," he says.

He says that on December 24 and 25 he signed up to work. “I get paid 600 pesos for 12 hours. I will send that money to my wife. I don't want to stay on Christmas Eve and Christmas at home with my brother to cry for not being with my family, ”he says.

Marisela says she has enrolled her children in a program called Gryd, which helps them avoid falling into gangs and drugs. The Gryd, is ilaunched by the Los Angeles City Council to offer resources, opportunities to young people.

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