TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) Representatives Raul Grijalva and Ruben Gallego say they will be bringing the children of Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos to President Trump's joint address to Congress next week.
Garcia de Rayos was living in Phoenix when she was deported a few weeks ago. Her story made national headlines.
In a press release, Rep. Grijalva said he is pleased to welcome Jaqueline Garcia de Rayos as his guest. Below is a portion of Grijalva's statement:
Two weeks ago, our nation was appalled to see the Trump administration target Jaqueline's mom, Guadalupe - a wife, breadwinner, mother of two and long-time member of the Phoenix community - with deportation while she met voluntarily with ICE officials. Jaqueline and her brother have shown tremendous courage in speaking out against Trump's abhorrent immigration policies, which recent DHS memos have made clear are nothing short of mass deportation. Their example is a bright light of hope for immigrant communities across this country who are fearful that Trump will come for them next. Their fight is all of our fight, and I am proud to stand side-by-side with them in opposition to these atrocious policies.
ICE has made the following statement regarding the deportation of Garcia de Rayos:
"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation officers removed Ms. Garcia to Mexico Thursday morning shortly before 10 a.m. MST through the DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) coordinated her repatriation closely with Mexican consular representatives.Ms. Garcia, who has a prior felony conviction in Arizona for criminal impersonation, was the subject of a court-issued removal order that became final in July 2013. Ms. Garcia's immigration case underwent review at multiple levels of the immigration court system, including the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the judges held she did not have a legal basis to remain in the U.S. ICE will continue to focus on identifying and removing individuals with felony convictions who have final orders of removal issued by the nation's immigration courts."
