Miguel Labrada is living a dream he thought was impossible: obtaining United States citizenship after having a deportation order removed from his record.
“A slap I gave my teenage son in a moment of desperation led to me being given a deportation order,” she says.
Miguel was born in Mexico City. At 18, he came on vacation to Southern California on a tourist visa, and when he saw that he would have more opportunities to study and work here, he decided to stay with a cousin. In 1987, Reagan’s Amnesty allowed him to obtain residency.
“I started washing cars in San Bernardino and then went to Santa Fe Springs where I worked in construction and as a security guard while studying English and computer science.”
In 1996, thanks to his studies, he began working for the AAA insurance company as a person in charge of the machines that prepare correspondence.
“I was married for three years and when I got divorced, I became a single father to my three children, two boys and a girl. My oldest son is almost 34, the other 32 and my daughter, 24. My daughter was two years old when the mother decided to return to Mexico and left me with them.”
The pressures he experienced as a single father led him to make the mistake of slapping his 17-year-old son during an argument.
“An uncle of mine accused me and I was charged with child abuse and sent to parenting classes.”
It was when she went to her citizenship appointment that she told the officer about the incident, and not only was she denied, but she was sent a deportation order.
“I felt panic, I started to cry, I saw my dreams shattered; my children were worried, my daughter started to cry; what are we going to do, my children told me. I didn’t know what to do.”
That’s how she got in touch with immigration attorney Denise Cabrera from Santa Ana.
“I explained my case to them, and they told me not to worry, that they would defend me. My lawyer managed to get the child abuse charge dropped in 2019, because of my good behavior and because I had taken the parenting classes they ordered me to take.”
He says that they then went to the immigration judge to give him proof from the criminal judge that he no longer held that position so that he could decide whether to expel him from the country or let him stay.
“That hearing lasted three hours. The prosecutor wanted to get me out at all costs. My son, who I slapped, was there, supporting me, giving testimony. He is now a US Marine. The judge decided to close my case.”
She still remembers when the judge turned to her lawyer and said, “Congratulations! Good job!”
With the paperwork given to him by the immigration judge, this father went back to his citizenship interview where he was made a United States citizen.
“When they told me that you are now a citizen, tears came to my eyes. I felt great peace, great tranquility, harmony and happiness.”
Now he says that his three children are happy, and he still cannot believe that after holding a deportation form in his hands, he now holds his naturalization certificate between his fingers.
“From being in the dark hole, two months ago, June 12, I came to light. If I had been deported, I would have lost everything, my children, my job and all the benefits I have accumulated throughout a working life.”.
He thanks God and his lawyer.
“God gave me an opportunity, and I am eternally grateful to my lawyer for defending me and believing in me.”
He celebrated his citizenship, accompanied by his children and their spouses, as well as his grandchildren.
Now with American citizenship, Miguel wants to take on the world.
“One way to give thanks to this country is to continue preparing myself and obtain a computer science certificate. I want to study to give back to this great country some of the much it is giving me.”
If there is one thing he regrets in his life, it is having lost his temper and slapping his teenage son.
“I completely regret it. I lost my temper at that moment. I don’t want to blame my son for his behavior, I was the adult, and I had to take a step back. I learned from parenting classes that the brain of teenagers is not 100% functioning.”
Attorney Cabrera, who handled Miguel’s case, says the Department of Homeland Security wanted to expel him from the country unless he could prove he was eligible to remain.
He said that Miguel applied for citizenship in 2016, was denied and placed in deportation proceedings.
“After her case was won in court, she applied for naturalization again in December 2023 and was finally able to obtain her citizenship.”
To accomplish this, she said they vacated his criminal conviction in criminal court by arguing that Miguel did not understand the consequences of accepting the plea agreement and then asked the immigration judge to grant him cancellation of removal for permanent residents (42A) based on the fact that he no longer had that criminal conviction on his record.
“It was a long process because we had to clear his record with the motion for annulment in criminal court. He was in deportation approximately between 2018 and 2023.”
What advice do you give to legal residents with criminal records who want to become citizens?
“Always seek the help of an attorney who is an immigration specialist, and who knows the immigration consequences of crimes, to avoid being placed in deportation proceedings. My biggest advice is not to lie.
“In this case, when Miguel applied for his first citizenship process, he didn’t know how serious it is to have a criminal record. Luckily, we found each other and managed to put the pieces together to obtain his citizenship.”