Key Takeaways
- Alexa Ramírez, a 38-year-old woman from Mexico, was deported back to her home country after being arrested during an immigration campaign in Chicago.
- Ramírez’s husband, Alexander Villeda, a 30-year-old man from El Salvador, is being held in an immigration detention center in Michigan and is fighting his immigration case.
- The couple was separated just eight days after getting married and is struggling to reunite due to the complexities of the immigration system.
- Ramírez is trying to rebuild her life in her hometown in Mexico, but is facing stigma and difficulties in accessing government services.
- Villeda’s case is part of a larger controversy surrounding the Trump administration’s deportation campaign, which has been criticized for its aggressive tactics and alleged human rights violations.
Introduction to the Situation
In the rugged mountains of the Sierra Mixteca region in southern Mexico, Alexa Ramírez is anxiously waiting for her husband, Alexander Villeda, to call. The couple tries to talk at least once a day since Ramírez was deported back to Mexico in October. Villeda, who is thousands of miles away in an immigration detention center in Battle Creek, Michigan, is fighting his immigration case and hoping to secure his release on bond. The couple was arrested in October during the immigration campaign in Chicago dubbed Operation Midway Blitz, just eight days after they got married. Neither has a criminal record.
Life After Deportation
Ramírez is back at her parents’ farm, in a town of just 1,257 people, helping her parents with the goats and sheep, cooking, cleaning the house, and trying to avoid the town gossip. She doesn’t want anyone to know she got deported, as she fears people might make fun of her situation. The life Ramírez had envisioned with her husband, living and working in Chicago, saving up to eventually finish building a house in Mexico, and starting a family business, has been shattered. Her new husband, isolated and lonely in detention, is fighting his immigration case and hoping to secure his release on bond.
The Deportation Process
After her arrest, Ramírez signed a form agreeing to voluntarily leave the country, at the immigration processing center in suburban Broadview where she was held for four days. Two days later, she was in Mexico. Many others made the same decision, with more than 150 people who were initially detained in Broadview deciding to self-deport during the first five and a half weeks of Operation Midway Blitz. This was the second-highest number of self-deportations among all U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in the country.
Immigration Campaign and Controversy
Operation Midway Blitz has mostly targeted Latino immigrants and has been characterized by its aggressive tactics and unlawful arrests. Federal agents used force in at least 141 incidents, according to a review of hundreds of court documents, videos, and news reports. The Broadview facility where both Ramírez and Villeda were held has been the subject of a federal lawsuit over the conditions inside, where former detainees testified they were forced to sleep on the floor near an open toilet and cells were overcrowded. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has criticized the Trump administration’s treatment of Mexican immigrants, stating that they are honest people who seek to help their families in Mexico and that without them, the U.S. economy would not be what it is.
Crossing the Border and Meeting
Ramírez had relatives in Chicago who encouraged her to head to the United States. In her hometown, it’s common for people to try to migrate to the U.S. to make a life beyond subsistence farming. She paid $7,500 for a smuggler to cross the border and eventually made it into the country on her second attempt. Ramírez quickly found a job at the Mariscos La Sirena restaurant, where she met Villeda, who had been working there for a while. The couple decided to get married after three years of living together, but their happiness was short-lived, as they were arrested just eight days after the wedding.
The Arrest and Detention
The arrest happened in front of Villeda’s mother, who was in town visiting from El Salvador to celebrate the couple’s wedding. Ramírez noticed a helicopter hovering above as she and her new husband wandered through the popular Swap-O-Rama market in Back of the Yards. They were aware of the increased immigration enforcement in the area, but Villeda told her to relax. When they looked around, two agents were already behind them, demanding proof of their legal status in the US. They were dragged away in handcuffs and sent to the Broadview immigration processing center.
The Stigma of Deportation
In Mexico, Ramírez is surrounded by family, but she is struggling to reintegrate into her community. The Mixteca region is a predominantly rural area where most residents rely on subsistence farming and remittances from the United States. Ramírez has tried to get into a routine, going to church on Sunday afternoons and helping her parents. However, she is facing stigma and difficulties in accessing government services, including the limited cash assistance promised under the Mexico Te Abraza program.
Rebuilding Life and Hope
For now, Ramírez is focusing on getting her husband out of detention. Villeda has a court date in January, and Ramírez is trying to stay optimistic that he will be released on bond. She has started working on getting passports for her parents, so they can travel to El Salvador to pick up Villeda and bring him to her family’s farm. As she stands on top of the half-finished brick house that she and Villeda had started building with the money they earned in Chicago, Ramírez starts to cry, hoping that they can meet again and finish building their house and their life together in Mexico.
