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One day in mid-June, we found him in the Tamaulipas Institute for Migrants, following his second deportation in three months, trying to get a message through to his wife, \u201cMarta\u201d \u2013 and to his son, \u201cThomas,\u201d who was turning 13 the next day in Georgia.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\n\t\u201cI\u2019m going to call Marta and tell her I\u2019m okay, and talk, because, really I don\u2019t know what to do,\u201d Alberto said. \u201cI have houses, mortgages, my taxes in order, three kids born in Georgia\u2026 The judge said the only thing that might help me is that if one of them had a chronic disease, I might get a humanitarian visa. But \u2013 thank god \u2013 none does.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\n\n\n \n\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022embed align-right embedded-entity embedded-entity-type-media embedded-entity-bundle-image embedded-entity-viewmode-embeddable embed--right\u0022 xmlns:xlink=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\u0022\u003E\n \n\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \n \n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\u0022figure figure--expand text-center info \u0022\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__media relative inline-block mx-auto\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022\/modal\/32599\u0022 rel=\u0022modal:open\u0022 class=\u0022figure__link\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cimg loading=\u0022lazy\u0022 srcset=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/480w\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/201707us_mexico_albertoz.jpg?itok=t7AbBZ5w 480w, \/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/201707us_mexico_albertoz.jpg?itok=g2LA5dC6 946w\u0022 sizes=\u0022(max-width: 524px) 100px, 500px\u0022 width=\u0022946\u0022 height=\u00221261\u0022 data-responsive-image-style=\u0022embedded_images\u0022 src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/201707us_mexico_albertoz.jpg?itok=g2LA5dC6\u0022 alt=\u0022Alberto Z. speaks with Human Rights Watch researchers at the Instituto Tamaulipeco in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.\u0022\u003E\n\n\n\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__expand absolute block bottom-0 right-0 w-8 h-8 bg-white text-gray-700\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022sr-only\u0022\u003EClick to expand Image\u003C\/span\u003E\n \n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022icon fill-current w-full inline-block\u0022\u003E\n \u003Csvg viewBox=\u00220 0 20 20\u0022 fill=\u0022currentColor\u0022 role=\u0022img\u0022 focusable=\u0022false\u0022 aria-hidden=\u0022true\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022\/themes\/custom\/hrw_design\/dist\/app-drupal\/assets\/spritemap.svg?cacheBuster=250315#sprite-expand\u0022 \/\u003E\n \u003C\/svg\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022figure__info text-left font-serif text-xs md:text-sm lg:text-base mx-auto text-gray-700 mt-1\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022figure__caption\u0022\u003EAlberto Z. speaks with Human Rights Watch researchers at the Instituto Tamaulipeco in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. \u00a9 2017 Human Rights Watch\n\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n \u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\n\n\n\n\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\n\tAlberto left Cuernavaca, Mexico, when he was 21 and hitchhiked up to the United States, knowing nobody. He and Marta, who is also undocumented, met when he was a cook and she was a waitress in a Mexican restaurant in suburban Atlanta. They married, moved to Sugar Hill, and started a family.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\n\tWith their three children, the family attended a Pentecostalist church on Sundays, whiled away weekends in the park, and took short family vacations to Savannah, Georgia, or Clearwater, Florida. Their baby, \u201cNatalia,\u201d was born last November, around the same time that the boys \u2013 Thomas and \u201cNelson,\u201d who is 10 \u2013 got black belts in mixed martial arts.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\n\tAlberto\u2019s job was only ten minutes from their house, but five years ago, on the way home from work, he was stopped at a police checkpoint. The police saw he had no driver\u2019s license \u2013 Georgia doesn\u2019t issue them to undocumented immigrants \u2013 and detained him for three days, until Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) showed up and took him to the detention center in Irwin County, Georgia. \u201cMy mortgages, my taxes \u2013 everything was in order,\u201d Alberto says. He had a DUI from 2007 but had completed all requirements to put it behind him. His lawyer applied for \u201ccancellation of removal,\u201d which allows some people who have lived in the US for at least 10 years without status and whose US citizen family would suffer \u201cexceptional and unusual hardship\u201d if the person were deported, to remain in the US. While his case was pending, Alberto received a temporary work permit, renewable each year.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\n\tIn 2016, however, Alberto had his hearing for cancellation and it was denied. When the appeal was denied, he continued to check in, as required by ICE. On February 18, when Alberto checked in, ICE arrested him immediately, detained him in a cell for a couple of weeks, and flew him to Brownsville, Texas, to deport him to Matamoros, Mexico.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\n\tIn early June, Alberto paid US$7,000 to cross the Rio Grande in a boat and be guided through the desert. After three nights and two days of walking in stifling heat, his group of five separated, and he was left with a fellow migrant who was exhausted and fading. \u201cI had to get him out to the highway,\u201d Alberto says \u2013 and that\u2019s where the Border Patrol caught him.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\n\tBack in Georgia, the family has been living on Alberto\u2019s savings and the proceeds from selling his pickup. Their church gives out fruit and other food once a week.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\n\t\u201cI want to arrange things legally now,\u201d Alberto told us. \u201cIt may seem faster to cross illegally, but you can die of dehydration or snakebite.\u201d Unfortunately, under current US law, it will be nearly impossible for Alberto to return to live with his family legally. \n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n\u003C\/div\u003E\n","settings":null},{"command":"insert","method":"prepend","selector":".js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__306215__en","data":"","settings":null}]