Three siblings in Bridgeton, NJ are struggling to keep their family home after their parents were deported.
In late 2017, mother and father Humberta and Oscar Campos were deported to Mexico, after years of living in the United States under supervision orders and attending ICE “check-in” meetings regularly, like so many other immigrants. With the parents’ deportation, their three children – all American citizens – were left to pick up the pieces. CNN reports:
The Campos’ house is a lot quieter since then; there’s a noticeable void. There are no groans of laughter in response to their father’s corny jokes, and the scents of their mother’s cooking no longer waft through their Bridgeton, New Jersey, home.
That absence is now partly filled with a tangible stress.
Without the income from Humberta and Oscar’s lawn care business, Janet, Oscar Jr., and Erwin are now responsible for paying a mortgage and keeping up with bills around the house.
Lynn Tramonte, Deportation Defense Coordinator for America’s Voice, said:
“Let’s be clear: the U.S. Government, under Trump, made the conscious decision to deport two loving parents and leave three young U.S. citizens to fend for themselves. They created a divided family where a united one once stood. The Campos children are all American citizens, but their government has failed them and their family. Instead of going to school, the eldests of them are working hard to pay their bills and help their youngest brother complete his education. It’s beautiful to see their church step up and put their arms around these young people. But the job won’t be done until Humberta and Oscar can come home to their children in America.”
Read excerpts from “A Family Torn Apart: Siblings fight to save their home after their parents are deported,” by Paul P. Murphy below and the full article here:
Seventeen days before Christmas, Humberta and Oscar Campos kissed their teary-eyed children goodbye at Newark International Airport, not sure when they would see them again.
The couple was being deported to Mexico.
Now, their three children — who are US citizens — are fighting to bring them back and struggling to save the family home.
The Campos’ house is a lot quieter since then; there’s a noticeable void. There are no groans of laughter in response to their father’s corny jokes, and the scents of their mother’s cooking no longer waft through their Bridgeton, New Jersey, home.
That absence is now partly filled with a tangible stress.
When the Campos’ daughter Janet is not taking care of the house and her two brothers, she puts in a 35-hour week at Walmart. The 22-year-old had to stop taking classes toward a college degree; she now has a mortgage payment to make.
Janet’s family was typical of millions of American households living the standard American dream. Humberta and Oscar Campos started a family and bought a house. They ran a successful lawn-care business and paid taxes yearly.
Their American dream experience was slightly different, however: The Camposes entered the US illegally more than 30 years ago. After Immigration and Customs Enforcement learned of this nearly 10 years ago, the Campos made the two-hour drive to Elizabeth, New Jersey, for their ICE check-in every three months. And every year, they applied for a stay of removal, which was always granted — until it wasn’t, last year.
Their final deportation orders not only separated them from their American dream, but their American family.
….
As the Campos siblings fight to keep their house, the separate battle to bring their parents home marches on in the courts.
“They never broke the law,” Janet says. “They don’t have a criminal record or anything.”
ICE agrees, noting they were only removed because they had entered the country illegally.
“While ICE focuses its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security, the agency no longer exempts classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement,” an ICE spokesperson told CNN.
Michael DiRaimondo, the lawyer for Humberta and Oscar Campos, told CNN that prosecutorial discretion “went out the window” with the Trump administration.
Both Oscar and Humberta are prohibited from returning to the US for 10 years because they entered the country illegally.
DiRaimondo is confident Humberta’s immigration case could be reopened and her 10-year ban waived — but the process to do so could take over a year to complete. The attorney feels that the original judge didn’t consider the hardships for the children left behind.
Oscar’s case is not as simple: He re-entered the US after he was deported in 1995, so there is no waiver for his 10-year ban.
But the Campos siblings are hopeful. They’re adamant about keeping the house and paying their lawyer to keep fighting to bring their parents home.
“I want my parents to know that we’re fine,” Janet says. “Just try to look at it as a vacation and when you guys come back, it’s like nothing ever changed. Everything is gonna be okay.”
