‘Not a criminal’: Woman self-deports to Mexico after living in US for 36 years; was ‘scared for her safety’

Image: Instagram/@julieear

A girl who has lived and labored in the US for 36 years has self-deported to Mexico after having lived in the nation since she was 15. Regina Higuera, 51, is a garment employee whose work allow had expired years in the past, has left behind her three American-born youngsters and her husband of 25 years. Her preliminary plan was to return house after she had retired however beneath present circumstances she determined to velocity up the method.Higuera didn’t manage to pay for to apply for paperwork and was motivated by worry for her security as immigration raids grew to become fairly frequent in her residential space of Highland Park. (*36*)“We were heartbroken that she felt so scared for her safety that she had to make this decision, but we were ultimately supportive,” stated her daughter Julie Ear, as reported by the People. “We have friends that were deported, some were missing for a week without knowing anything about where they were.”“She felt like a prisoner in her own home,” stated Ear, noting that even finishing up each day errands had turn into fairly troublesome for Higuera. “She has been working in this country for decades to only live paycheck to paycheck,” she added.“My mom chose to take control of her life and did not allow this country, which she spent years contributing to, tell her that she was a criminal because she is not.”Fearing questioning or detention at Los Angeles International Airport, Higuera and her family traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, and crossed the border to fly out from TIJ International Airport. From then on Higuera flew into Mexico City and drove for nearly five hours to get to Guerrero, Mexico.Higuera is “a hard-working taxpayer who has been working 12-hour shifts since she was 15, six days out of the week,” and holds “no criminal record,” as per Ear. The household plans to go to their mom in August.“She is trying to lean on family out there so she doesn’t feel lonely, but she is having a hard time adjusting to the cultural differences… they do things differently out there,” said Ear. Ear has around 100,000 followers across all her social media platforms and is vocal about “injustices” occurring in her city and the nation. She is also involved with grassroot organizations aiming to usher in change. “I would like to clarify that I do not want this to be an advertisement for self-deportation, but I also want to let people know that if they are thinking of taking this step, it is not the end of the world and that there are options,” she said, as reported by the People. US president Donald Trump has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation effort in US history, targeting over 10 million undocumented immigrants. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement has allegedly received orders from the administration to detain 3,000 immigrants every day.