Three years after being deported to Mexico in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Guatemalan Gilmer Isaí Barrios not only managed to return to California to reunite with his wife and children but also obtained permanent residency in the United States.
“I still can’t believe it. So much so that I went with my wife and children to celebrate in Tijuana. I was very afraid that they wouldn’t let me return, but I wanted to test if my resident card really worked,” says the 31-year-old Guatemalan excitedly.
It was on March 23, 2022, while returning in the afternoon from his job as a tree trimmer that he was arrested at a Border Patrol (CBP) checkpoint in Temecula, south of Riverside County, California.
For many years, Gilmer had passed through that place without any problem, but that day his luck changed. He was arrested and four days later deported to Mexico, despite having no criminal record.
At that time he had already been living in the United States for 11 years. In 2017 he married Kimberly Barrios, a US citizen, the mother of his children.
“That same year we saw an immigration lawyer to present my residency petition, but they never called me for an interview. The lawyer ended up telling me that he couldn’t do anything for me,” he says.
In a telephone interview with Gilmer, after his deportation to Mexico, he had said that although he is Guatemalan, he tearfully begged the immigration agents not to send him to Guatemala.
“At least in Tijuana, my wife and children could come visit me,” he says.
When Gilmer was expelled, Border Patrol spokeswoman Wendi Lee said Gilmer was detained and deported for being in the country undocumented.
“Since the federal administration declared the emergency due to covid-19, we received the order that when a Mexican immigrant is detained without papers, even if he has no criminal record, he must be deported immediately”, noticed.
Emilio Amaya of the San Bernardino Community Service Center said that the Guatemalan was deported by mistake under Title 42, a US public health measure imposed during the pandemic that allowed those who entered by land to be expelled to Mexico or to the countries of origin. , bridges or irregular crossings, in order to prevent the spread of covid-19.
“We managed to get ICE/CBP (Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Customs and Border Protection) to return him legally to the country and for him to obtain permanent residency this month,” Amaya said.
Gilmer who is now 31 years old. He returned to live in the town of Lake Elsinore in western Riverside County with his wife Kimberly and his children. At the time of the deportation, the oldest of his children, Aarón Isaí, was two years old, and the youngest, Noé Alfonso, was barely one year old. He now he has a third baby.
“Thanks to the support of the press, the San Bernardino Community Service Center organization and the Guatemalan Consulate in Los Angeles, I managed to return 20 days after my deportation to the United States. After several days of confinement, they let me out with an electronic monitoring bracelet. I brought him for two months,” she says.
And he remembers that he was living in Tecate, Baja California, after his deportation when officials from the Guatemalan Consulate contacted him to tell him that they were going to pick him up to bring him back.
“They found out what was happening through the press. The officials of the Guatemalan Consulate together with Mexican authorities handed me over to the United States immigration agents at the crossing and let me return.”
He says that returning to the United States, still with an ankle bracelet, was a great relief, since he was the only provider for his household, since his wife is dedicated to the home.
“Now with a work permit, I was able to get a better job as a tree trimmer for a subcontractor of the Edison electricity company. I am better off financially and very happy working for them.”
So when he was notified a few weeks ago that his residence card had already arrived, he was happy.
“It’s another miracle from God!” he exclaims.
With the residence in his hands, Gilmer plans to buy a house, a goal that he admits is difficult due to the high prices that housing has reached in California.
“I want to strive to give a better life to my children. We already have a third child. And I also want my family and I to be able to walk and enjoy life.”
According to Laura Ruiz, associate director of the San Bernardino Community Service Center, the legal organization that achieved Gilmar’s reentry and assumed legal representation free of charge, this case is a clear example of the need to exhaust all available legal resources before to accept deportation.
“The deportation of Mr. Barrios was in total violation of his legal rights and if he had given up and returned to his country of origin, he would have been subject to a series of immigration penalties and a long wait to return.”
The director of the San Bernardino Community Service Center said that the organization reminds our community of the importance of knowing and asserting their legal rights before accepting an order of voluntary departure or deportation.