The wife of a Marine veteran self-deported to Mexico on Thursday rather than be arrested by immigration officials.
The Associated Press reports that Alejandra Juarez and her eight-year-old daughter boarded a plane at Orlando International Airport Thursday after a teary goodbye with her husband and 16-year-old daughter.
Jaurez had been told earlier this week that she would be deported Aug. 3 after Rep. Darren Soto could not pass legislation to keep Jaurez in the US.
In a statement issued to CNN earlier this week, ICE says "Juarez was initially apprehended and removed from the country after attempting to enter illegally from Mexico in 1998. He said she later illegally re-entered the United States after being removed — which is a felony."
Jaurez's husband Temo is a naturalized citizen who served in the Marines during the Iraq War. He told the Associated Press that he voted for President Donald Trump, but that he didn't think his vote would affect his family personally.
Jaurez told WESH-TV in Orlando that if she could speak with President Trump, she would ask how he could allow something like this to happened considering her husband served in the military.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
