A looming deportation for a father praying for a miracle
ICE ramps up arrests across the country, and troops bring more razor wire to the border region
Perez has been living in the United States since the mid '90s, except for a few short stretches following deportations to Guatemala.
The father of three, who has no criminal record, is worried that the Trump administration will deport him again because he already has a removal order, making him an easy target. Under President Donald Trump's first term, officials arrested and deported many people who had prior removal orders and who'd been allowed to stay temporarily as long as they checked in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a consistent basis.
“If you've been deported, for them, you don't have rights anymore,” he said in Spanish, referring to ICE. “All we can do is ask the attorney what to do and pray for God's grace.”
ICE did not respond to a request for comment.
Perez, who is not being fully identified due to his vulnerable situation, is a native speaker of Mam, an Indigenous language from parts of Guatemala and Mexico. He said immigration officers initially deported him after he was pulled over for having an expired tag on his car.
Still, he said he loves the respect that he feels in the United States. He said he didn't experience that in Guatemala. And, he appreciates that here his wife can get the care she needs for a potentially life-threatening medical condition that she has. She wouldn’t be able to get that care back in Guatemala, he said.
Perez worries about his own safety in Guatemala because of past experiences there, but he worries even more about what will happen to his family. His wife's medical condition limits her ability to work or take care of the family in his absence, and his children are still in school.
The last time he was in immigration custody, his daughter no longer wanted to live, he said.
“I felt as though the world had ended,” he said, recalling his most recent time in immigration detention.
He said he has come back for his family several times, making the dangerous journey through Mexico and across the border, getting caught and sent back and trying again until he made it home. He's not sure if he has it in him to take that risk again. Then again, he also doesn't think his family will succeed without him, and he's afraid of what might happen to his family in Guatemala.
“If I go, my sons won't keep studying. I'm the one who pays the bills,” he said. “I don't want to keep living in the shadows. If they deport me, I don't want to come back. But if they deport me, who will take care of my wife and my daughter?”
“Maybe people will think it's easy,” he added, “but when one has experienced it, it's another thing — an experience you don't want to know again.”
The last time he avoided deportation, he prayed for a miracle all the way to the airport. That may be the only recourse he has left.
Since Trump took office, Perez's neighbor saw ICE officers outside his door one day when he was not home.
ICE appears to have ramped up arrests across the country on Sunday after the Trump administration issued quotas to ICE officers. The agency said on X that it had made nearly 1,000 arrests that day alone.
A video reposted by the Escondido Times-Advocate shows an ICE officer talking through a screen door with a woman, who tells him that he can't come inside without a judicial warrant. The officer says that his team is working on getting the warrant.
“I promise you this: If that warrant comes, we’re going to take everybody in the house,” the officer says.
Other federal agencies are assisting in the arrests, including the FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Marshals Service. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove and Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan personally oversaw the operation in Chicago.
Nationwide arrests included asylum seekers in Georgia who have been wearing ankle monitors while they wait for their court dates. A New Jersey mayor said that arrests in Newark included U.S. citizens and even a military veteran.
On Monday, the arrests continued in San Diego, with reports of ICE outside apartments, homes and grocery stores across the county throughout the day.
Living in the border region
Perez's story is just one of the ways that people living in the border region are already experiencing the effects of Trump's Day One executive orders. I wrote last week about how migrants in Tijuana were dealing with the news that there is no longer a way to request asylum in the United States.
In San Diego, I've seen U.S. citizens posting online in neighborhood groups offering assistance to immigrants living in their communities in preparation for Trump's threatened mass deportations. Undocumented people are having conversations with family, friends and neighbors about what to do if they get arrested and deported.
Community members are also posting warnings about potential sightings of ICE and Border Patrol. Many of these are later debunked, but the fear they drive is very real.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that 500 marines from Camp Pendleton would be among the 1,500 troops sent to the border and that they would arrive late last week.
CalMatters reporter Wendy Fry saw troops at a Border Patrol station in Imperial Beach on Friday. She said they were uncoiling and recoiling razor wire.
On Thursday evening, while I was with friends at San Diego's iconic Balboa Park, I could hear what sounded like lots of helicopters whooshing over us. It was too cloudy to see them clearly. Though San Diegans are to some extent accustomed to the sounds of random military exercises overhead from time to time, I couldn't help but wonder whether I was hearing the troops on their way to begin their border mission.
Fire at the border
The sound could have also been helicopters fighting the Border 2 fire, which started up in the Otay Mountain Wilderness near a popular crossing area for migrants. A video clip shared by Cal Fire on its X account on Thursday showed an area that I have been through many times with Border Patrol agents. It can take several days to make the arduous crossing, and it is possible that migrants were somewhere along that journey when the fire started. Cal Fire has not yet reported any injuries or fatalities.
The fire is not that far from several prisons and Otay Mesa Detention Center, an ICE facility run by CoreCivic.
“The Otay Mesa Detention Center staff has maintained contact with Cal Fire on the status of the fire,” said Brian Todd, a spokesperson for CoreCivic. “Following their direction, evacuation has not been necessary as we are outside the evacuation order and warning areas. We will remain in communication with Cal Fire and have an evacuation plan ready based on their guidance.”
A capsized boat
A boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized off the coast of San Diego on Saturday morning. José Ysea, a spokesperson for the city of San Diego, said that Ocean Bach lifeguards reported between 15 and 20 people on board. Surfers helped rescue many from the water. Eight people were hospitalized, Ysea said, including one unconscious person undergoing CPR. It's unclear what their current status is.
According to CBP, no arrests have been made. The San Diego Air and Marine Branch seized the boat.
These types of incidents are not uncommon in San Diego. You might recall a boat that broke apart off the coast of the Cabrillo National Monument in May 2021 that killed three people and injured dozens. But given the rapidly changing border policies, it's hard not to wonder if there was someone on that boat who decided to sneak in because they could no longer get a CBP One appointment.
A “cartel terrorist” shooting
El Centro Border Patrol issued a press release Thursday claiming that “cartel terrorists” had shot at two hikers in Jacumba, striking one in the leg, and robbed them of their cell phones and backpacks. In previous press releases about similar incidents, Border Patrol has referred to those who committed these types of attacks as “bandits,” not as cartel members.
It's not clear from the press release what evidence agents might have to suggest that this attack was cartel work or which cartel is believed to be involved. CBP did not respond to a request for comment.
Other stories to watch
Mexico refused to allow a U.S. military plane carrying deportees to land on its soil.
A judge temporarily blocked Trump's executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship.
Border officials received instructions to deport people without letting them apply for asylum following Trump's executive orders.
Colombia's president refused to allow deportation flights to land there, and the United States quickly sought to sanction the country, including through the use of tariffs and visa bans. The two governments made a deal that allows for deportations to go forward.
El Salvador is negotiating with the United States to receive people of other nationalities being deported from the United States, including people suspected of being Venezuelan gang members. (Deported Salvadorans suspected of being gang members often end up in prison where they face torturous conditions, as I recently reported for Capital & Main.)
Quaker groups filed a lawsuit on Monday arguing that ICE's recent directive allowing officers to make arrests at locations including houses of worship, hospitals and schools violates rights protected by the Constitution.
A note from the author: Let this be a friendly reminder that in a moment when you are feeling pulled in many directions because of how much work is needed in different spaces at the same time, it's OK to tell yourself, “It doesn't all have to be me.” I had to tell myself that several times over the past week, and I reminded myself that there are other fantastic journalists out there digging deep into what's going on. We've got each other, and as a community, we can make sure the things are handled. Take a breath.
Take care and stay well.