Washington will reopen its borders with Mexico and Canada to people vaccinated against covid-19, after almost 20 months of closure due to the pandemic.
This Monday, the reopening of the Mexican-American border will allow the reunion of families separated by the pandemic, however, For Martín and a group of war veterans deported by the United States, it is just another bitter pill.
Of Mexican origin, these people live a kind of exile. They resided legally in the United States, but due to past offenses they were expelled to a country that they no longer feel is their own.
“It is not envy, but sadness to know that many will be able to cross and I will not “, says Martín Figueroa, 52, in the humble room that he rents in Tijuana (northwest border), after being deported in 2018.
Gone are families, friends and – in the case of veterans – economic benefits and war companions from Vietnam and Iraq, where they defended the American flag.
“You can say that my soul and my mind stayed on that side. Here I am only in body ”, reflects Martín, separated from his seven children.
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“Nothing more than a wall divides us”, adds on the barrier that rises nine meters in various sections of the 3,100 km border.
With a bald head and a mustache, Martín was returned to Mexico when he was working in construction in Bakersfield (California) and, according to his account, He had been away from gangs for several years.
He had come to the United States when he was two years old, after being adopted by Mexican migrants.
A similar drama lives José Francisco López, 76, expelled in 2003 after serving a sentence for trying to buy drugs. Four years ago he founded the House of Support for Deported Veterans of Ciudad Juárez (Chihuahua, northeast).
“I lost my wife, my children. I have not seen them for many years ”, points out this man who fought in Vietnam between 1968 and 1969, and has not been able to meet his grandchildren.
There is a hope
José Francisco is a kind of beacon for some thirty deported ex-combatants, who are legally struggling to regain their residency. Some have died in the process.
On July 2, the administration of President Joe Biden announced a plan to “bring back service members, veterans, and their immediate family members who were wrongfully removed.” so that they “receive the benefits to which they may be entitled.”
“We hope it complies”, says José Francisco, who along with his companions unfurls banners on the border to demand the end of “exile.”
The National Institute of Migration (INM) of Mexico assures that this year it has provided care to 181,064 people “of Mexican origin repatriated from the United States”, without detailing the number of deportees.
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Martín links his case with the strong hand of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) against migrants, since he maintains that when he was deported the authorities brought to light events that occurred in 1994.
Since then “they didn’t look at me. Until Trump came in and they said ‘let’s get him out.’ They had me in their sights ”, says Martín, who, taking advantage of his command of English works in a ‘call center’ serving clients of US companies.
Washington will reopen its borders with Mexico and Canada to people vaccinated against covid-19, after almost 20 months of closure due to the pandemic.
Bridge on the United States border has become a camp for more than 10,000 detained migrants
Various exceptions They have allowed passage by land for essential travel and air entry with negative COVID tests.
It is estimated that of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, about half come from Mexico.
“They do not feel in their country”
Deportations leave a deep psychological imprint on people who made their lives very early in the United States.
“Depression hits you”, confesses Martín, who rules out entering illegally because he fears spending the rest of his life in jail.
Deported for the second time in 2016, ex-soldier Marcelino Ramos, 53, suffers from the separation of a six-year-old daughter and two sons who are members of the US National Guard.
“All my life is there”, says Ramos, expelled for domestic violence and who calls his situation “injustice.”
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French journalist Alex Gohari, co-author of a documentary about Martín and other deportees from Tijuana, affirms that these people “They do not feel in their country”, and cases such as that of Rocío Rebollar, who returned after demonstrating irregularities in her process, are exceptional.
“We all have depressions, anxiety, traumas from war”, says Iván Ocón, 44, who participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Aware that it will be very difficult to return, Martín encourages those who will be able to do it from this Monday.
“That they make you want, that they enjoy and take advantage of this opportunity. Because when it comes to my situation, there is no longer a remedy ”. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
