"Enrique Castillejos and his wife stopped at a Winchell's Donut House. It was part of their after-church routine on Friday nights. That evening's sermon had been about finding peace in God in turbulent times, and they felt it spoke directly to them. Enrique, 63, and his wife, Maria Elena Hernandez, 55, were undocumented immigrants. Like millions of others in Southern California, they had been looking over their shoulders as federal agents conducted immigration sweeps."
"Freedom, they felt, had become impossible in the land of the free. They had made a decision: Leave America and move back to Mexico. The process has the sterile, bureaucratic name of self-deportation. For Enrique and Maria Elena, it resembled a long, slow-motion goodbye. It took an emotional, spiritual and logistical toll on everyone around them, including their three children and two grandchildren. They had to decide what to do with their old, beloved dog and their trucking business."
Enrique Castillejos, 63, and his wife Maria Elena Hernandez, 55, were undocumented immigrants living in Southern California who decided to leave the United States and return to Mexico. They had long planned to retire in Mexico but accelerated the decision after intensified federal immigration sweeps made everyday life feel unsafe. The couple described the departure as a slow, painful goodbye that imposed emotional, spiritual, and logistical burdens on themselves, their three children, and two grandchildren. They struggled over practical matters such as their dog and trucking business and abruptly severed ties with church and neighbors while friends visited with gifts. Their children continue to watch news with mixed emotions.
Read at www.nytimes.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]