Family Prepares to Self-Deport Parents to Mexico
Correspondent Leone Lakhani traveled to Texas to hear their story.
MATTER OF FACT. THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS CALLING THEM VOLUNTARY DEPORTATIONS. ON MONDAY, MAY 1968, IMMIGRANTS BOARDED A GOVERNMENT FUNDED FLIGHT OUT OF THE UNITED STATES. THEY WERE GIVEN DEBIT CARDS WITH $1,000 ON THEM AND AN OFFER TO ONE DAY APPLY FOR LEGAL ENTRY INTO THE U.S. THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED 11 MILLION UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN THE COUNTRY, AND EXPERTS DOUBT THAT MANY OF THEM WILL CHOOSE TO SELF-DEPORT. BUT OUR CORRESPONDENT LEONE LAKHANI, RECENTLY MET A FAMILY IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, THATāS OPTING TO LEAVE. THEY MADE THE DECISION MONTHS BEFORE THE ADMINISTRATIONāS VOLUNTARY DEPORTATIONS PUSH. AND DESPITE MANY IN THE FAMILY HAVING LEGAL STATUS, LEONE HAS THEIR STORY. THE HISTORIC TOWN OF SEGUIN, TEXAS, IS WHERE 31 YEAR OLD KARINA AND HER HUSBAND, JOSH, CHOSE TO MAKE THEIR HOME. WOW. AND RAISED THEIR THREE KIDS. BUT FOR KARINA, LIFE BEGAN IN MEXICO UNTIL TRAGEDY HIT. IT ALL STARTED WHEN MY PARENTS LOST MY BROTHER. HE WAS KILLED BY A DRUNK COP IN MEXICO. AFTER THAT, KARINA SAYS THEIR LIFE IN MEXICO FELL APART. SO THE FAMILY CAME TO THE U.S. ONE BY ONE, CROSSING THE DESERT. AS SHE SAYS. IF YOU COME HERE ILLEGALLY TO STAY HERE, YOU NEED TO HAVE A DIRECT FAMILY MEMBER JOIN THE MILITARY TO BE ABLE TO PETITION YOU OR TWO. YOU CAN SELF-DEPORT WAIT OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY FOR TEN YEARS, AND THEN YOUāRE ELIGIBLE TO QUALIFY. IF YOU MANAGE TO FIND A SPONSOR. AFTER LIVING IN THE U.S. 20 YEARS, GOING TO SCHOOL, WORKING ALL UNDOCUMENTED, ONE OF THOSE SPOTS OPENED FOR KARINA. MY HUSBAND MADE THE HARD DECISION TO JOIN THE MILITARY. OKAY. IāM COMING. JOSH, A U.S. CITIZEN, WAS BORN AND RAISED IN LAS VEGAS. WHY DID YOU MAKE THAT DECISION? YOU KNOW, WE WENT TO A BUNCH OF IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS, AND THERE WAS NO PATHWAY FOR HER AT ALL. LIKE, LITERALLY NOT NOT ONE PATHWAY. JUST KIND OF FELT LIKE IT WAS THE BEST THING AT THE TIME. KARINA SISTER ALSO BEGAN A PATH TO DOCUMENTATION, BUT KARINAāS PARENTS AND BROTHER REMAIN UNDOCUMENTED. MY BROTHER IS AN IRONWORKER AND HE MAKES REALLY GOOD MONEY. MY DAD OWNS HIS OWN TOWING COMPANY AND HE OBVIOUSLY PAYS TAXES. ITāS A LEGAL, FULL BLOWN COMPANY, AND HE DOES HAVE EMPLOYEES, KARINA SAYS. THATāS ONE OF THE MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT BEING UNDOCUMENTED. THE MAJORITY OF US PAY TAXES. YES, THERE ARE SOME THAT WORK UNDER THE TABLE, BUT I THINK THATāS EVERYONE. EVEN NATURAL BORN CITIZENS. WHAT OTHER KIND OF MISCONCEPTIONS DO YOU THINK THERE ARE ABOUT THEM? THAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARE JUST USING ALL THESE BENEFITS WHEN IN FACT THEY DO NOT QUALIFY EXCLUDED FROM BENEFITS LIKE HEALTH CARE, WHICH BECAME AN ISSUE FOR KARINAāS FAMILY WHEN HER MOTHER FELL ILL ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO. MY MOM GOT TWO STROKES ALREADY. SHEāS UNABLE TO GET HER MEDICATIONS OR ANYTHING THAT SHE REQUIRES MEDICALLY. ADD TO THAT CONCERN THAT HER MOTHERāS UNDOCUMENTED STATUS COULD GET HER DEPORTED. THE FAMILY SAW ONLY ONE OPTION MOVE HER BACK TO MEXICO FOR TREATMENT. WE FIGURED IT WAS BETTER THAN HER GOING TO A DOCTOR APPOINTMENT AND GETTING STOPPED BY IMMIGRATION AND MISTREATED AND GETTING YANKED AROUND. GIVEN THAT SHE CAN BARELY EVEN MOVE OR TALK, HOW DO YOU FEEL THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME GOING BACK? SHE SAID SHE FEELS HAPPY BECAUSE SHE GETS TO SEE EVERYONE, BUT SHE FEELS SAD BECAUSE SHE HAS TO GO. SHE CANāT COME BACK. WHATāS SHE GOING TO MISS THE MOST? I MISS HER KIDS. SPECIFICALLY KARINAāS BROTHER AND SISTER, BECAUSE KARINA IS MOVING HUSBAND, CHILDREN AND ALL TO MEXICO. YOUāVE BEEN HERE SINCE YOU WERE A CHILD. THIS IS THE ONLY LIFE YOU KNOW. ARE YOU NERVOUS ABOUT GOING TO MEXICO? I WOULD BE LYING IF I SAID THAT I WASNāT, BUT IāM HOPEFUL. IāM A LITTLE NERVOUS WITH THE CARTEL ACTIVITY AROUND MY HOMETOWN, BUT IāM PRETTY SURE WEāRE GOING TO BE OKAY. ARE YOU CONCERNED NOW BECAUSE THE ADMINISTRATION IS RAMPING UP DEPORTATIONS? I UNDERSTAND ON ONE SIDE WE CANāT LET EVERYBODY STAY ON THE OTHER SIDE. IāM WORRIED BECAUSE OF THE TREATMENT, ALTHOUGH, YES, CROSSING ILLEGALLY IS A FEDERAL CRIME. I DONāT THINK THE PEOPLE DESERVE THAT KIND OF TREATMENT, GIVEN THEY ARE JUST REGULAR PEOPLE TRYING TO SURVIVE. WHAT DO YOU WISH THE GOVERNMENT WOULD DO FOR THE UNDOCUMENTED PEOPLE HERE? I THINK IF THEY JUST CLOSE THE BORDERS AND LEGALIZE EVERYBODY THATāS BEEN HERE FOREVER PAYING THEIR TAXES. BUT IF THE BORDERS WERE CLOSED, THEN YOU WOULDNāT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CROSS THE BORDER WHEN YOU WERE A KID. NO. AND THATāS A PART OF THE PROBLEM. WE ALL GOT AWAY WITH IT. IF THEY ACTUALLY HELP OUT THOSE THAT GOT IN AND HAVE PROVEN TO BE, YOU KNOW, CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS OF SOCIETY AND THEN MAKE A MORE REALISTIC PATH FOR THE NEXT PEOPLE, I THINK THAT COULD SOLVE A LOT OF THE ISSUES. YOUāRE IT AS THE TIME APPROACHES FOR KARINA AND JOSH TO FLY HER MOTHER TO MEXICO, JOSH REFLECTS ON WHATāS AHEAD. ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT HOW DIFFERENT YOUR LIFE IS GOING TO BE THERE? NO, NOT REALLY. THE MILITARY KIND OF HELPED ME GAIN THE ABILITY TO ADAPT SO I CAN ADAPT TO ANY SITUATION, ANY SCENARIO. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK ABOUT THIS? THEYāRE JUST LIKE, YOU GO TO IRAQ, YOU GO TO SYRIA. NOPE, NOPE. ALL RIGHT. COOL. YOUāRE GOOD ABOUT IT. AND FOR KARINA, SHEāS HOPING HER CHILDREN WILL EXPERIENCE A CHILDHOOD IN MEXICO. SHE WASNāT ABLE TO. I FEEL LIKE MY CULTURE, MY HERITAGE, IS CALLING ME. FOR MATTER OF FAC
Family Prepares to Self-Deport Parents to Mexico
Correspondent Leone Lakhani traveled to Texas to hear their story.
Updated: 3:13 PM CDT Jun 2, 2025
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Karina is preparing for a big move. Born in Mexico, she came to America as a child with her parents, who illegally crossed the border in search of a better life. She eventually became an American citizen when her husband joined the military. Her parents worked and lived in the U.S. for decades, but with no path to citizenship, they remained undocumented ā now fearing deportation. So, Karina is planning to move her entire family, including her American children, back to her home country. Correspondent Leone Lakhani traveled to Texas to hear her story.
Karina is preparing for a big move. Born in Mexico, she came to America as a child with her parents, who illegally crossed the border in search of a better life. She eventually became an American citizen when her husband joined the military. Her parents worked and lived in the U.S. for decades, but with no path to citizenship, they remained undocumented ā now fearing deportation. So, Karina is planning to move her entire family, including her American children, back to her home country. Correspondent Leone Lakhani traveled to Texas to hear her story.