Thursday, April 27, 2023 2:15 PM
Houston, Texas (KTRK) – Jose Escobar was deported again in 2017 after what he thought was a routine immigration check. He was forced to tell his family goodbye, despite having no criminal past. But on Thursday, Escobar became a US citizen.
The video above is from the 2019 report.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Houston family continues to fight to return a man who has been deported to El Salvador
FIEL, an immigrant-led civil rights organization, has made calls, consulted attorneys, and reached out to federal officials to bring Escobar back.
“We were able to bring Jose back as a permanent resident and reunite him with his family,” said Cesar Espinosa, FIEL Executive Director.
The deportation came after executive orders signed by former President Donald Trump called for the removal of anyone whose immigration status had fallen, not just violent crime offenders, as was the policy in years past.
Escobar took the final step Thursday morning at the USCIS Houston processing center. His wife and his lawyer accompanied him at the swearing-in ceremony for US citizenship.
“I started working with the Escobar family nearly 15 years ago when immigration caught Jose,” said Espinosa. “After a long legal battle, deportation, and return to the United States, now is the time to close this chapter in this family’s life, and Jose will be sworn in as an American citizen. This family has been a role model in the plight of the immigrant community.”
Escobar came to Houston from El Salvador when he was fifteen years old. He said that a paperwork error caused his legal status to change.
Watch related story: ‘The fight isn’t over’: DACA recipient home after stranded in Mexico for over 6 months
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https://abc13.com/el-salvador-deportee-becomes-us-citizen-immigration-deportation-houston-man-wrongly-deported/13190238/
