Miguel Angel Lopez, a father of three who had been living in the United States for decades, was deported to Mexico in June.
Newsweek reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Lopez’s former attorney for comment via email on Wednesday.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history and has overseen an immigration crackdown since returning to office.
Immigrants residing in the country illegally and legally, with valid documentation such as green cards and visas, have been detained. Newsweek has reported dozens of cases involving green-card holders and applicants who were swept up in the immigration raids.
The Trump administration has deported thousands of people to their countries of origin, as well as a smaller percentage to third countries with U.S. agreements. It has also encouraged individuals without proper documentation to self-deport.
AP Photo/Christian Chavez
What To Know
Lopez, 47, came to the U.S. illegally as an 18-year-old in 1996, according to several local media reports. He later married Rosa Lopez, a U.S. citizen, in 2001, and they worked to get him a permanent residency. His application was rejected in 2007, according to Mission Local.
The couple lived in the San Francisco area together. He was taken into ICE custody during a routine visit, San Francisco news station KTVU reported.
His wife told KTVU that he has no criminal background, but that he did previously claim to be a U.S. citizen. Mission Local reported that an immigration judge had disagreed with removal proceedings against him and granted Lopez a green card in 2012; however, that decision was appealed, and the green card was revoked.
He is the father of three children and is the sole provider for the family.
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have repeatedly pledged to detain and deport individuals without proper legal status in the U.S.
What People Are Saying
Miguel Angel Lopez told ABC 7 News in August: “It was like 17 years that I was reporting to immigration. At the beginning, it was every month, then every three months, then every year until the last time I went and they detained me.”
Rosa Lopez told KTVU in June: “I know he’s done everything the right way, paid his taxes. He’s worked. He’s had no problems with the police. Yes, he made the mistake of crossing the border and claiming to be a U.S. citizen. He was 18. I mean, what 18-year-old knows? And it’s like he said, ‘It wasn’t my choice. I was brought here because my parents brought me, not because I decided to come.'”
Lopez’s attorney, Saad Ahmad, told KTVU in June: “When we went to the 9th Circuit Court earlier, they said they lacked authority over this issue. And then the Supreme Court refused to hear it. So, basically, what we are doing is we are going to the District Court because we feel there has to be an avenue. There has to be a forum where Mr. Lopez can seek review of this decision, because it will raise serious constitutional issues that someone could be removed from the country without having his case heard.”
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement previously shared with Newsweek: “Under Secretary Noem, we are delivering on President Trump’s and the American people’s mandate to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens to make America safe. Secretary Noem unleashed ICE to target the worst of the worst and carry out the largest deportation operation of criminal aliens in American history.”
What Happens Next
Lopez has been in Mexico since his deportation in June. ABC 7 reports he is living with his father outside of Mexico City in Chimalhuacán.
