Despite the efforts of countless advocates across the country, Maribel Trujillo, an Ohio mom snatched off the street by ICE, was deported to Mexico early this morning, her attorney said:
According to [Trujillo’s attorney Kathleen] Kersh, "Maribel's deportation shows that the Trump Administration is not focused on deporting criminals, but rather on separating peaceful mothers from their American children. It is horrific that American children will be the ones to pay the price for these heartless policies," she adds. Maribel's motion to reopen her asylum case remains pending at the Board of Immigration Appeals, and ABLE is committed to continue representation of Maribel and her family until the case is resolved.
"On behalf of Maribel's family, we thank all of you who called your elected officials, marched, attended vigils and supported Maribel and her family in these past few weeks," says Kersh. "Maribel's family is understandably devastated by her deportation, and asks that everyone respect their privacy at this time."
According to WCPO, Maribel’s attorney is also “working with the Mexican Consulate to provide support for Trujillo, because ‘she basically has nothing’ with her or waiting for her in Mexico.”
Maribel’s story had received national attention for ICE’s cruelty, including a report from Rachel Maddow and a letter from more than 700 faith leaders demanding Department of Homeland Security Sec. John Kelly "stop this cruel and immoral practice of tearing families apart and send Maribel Trujillo Diaz home to her family." Other moms in Maribel’s home state launched a campaign pressuring Ivanka Trump to intervene, who instead failed a major test of the women’s advocacy she supposedly champions.
One immigrant rights advocacy group said the deportation was “a crystal clear example of the reality: Trump and Kelly’s Deportation Force is targeting anyone and everyone they come across.”
According to Lynn Tramonte, Director of Ohio’s Voice and Deputy Director of America’s Voice Education Fund, “Just a month ago, Maribel had a U.S. government issued work permit and a life here in Ohio. A family had their mom. Now, she’s on a one-way flight back to Mexico without her family, including her three-year-old daughter who desperately needs her mother’s care. What changed? Trump. His Deportation Force is going after anybody and everybody, including people who are walking into their offices for regularly scheduled appointments, just as they have done for years. When Secretary Kelly and President Trump claim to target only bad people, they are lying. Maribel and many others are sad proof of that.”
Maribel has four U.S. citizen kids, no criminal record, and had even received permission under the Obama administration to work legally. Instead, she was targeted by Trump’s mass deportation force and torn from her family and home. How is any of this insanity making America safer?