From The Banner · Rick Hutzell · · 3m
ICE deported a midshipman's mother
A Naval Academy plebe started his second week of classes, and then his mother was deported to Mexico.
In brief
A Naval Academy plebe started his second week of classes, and then his mother was deported to Mexico. The immigration crackdown is now hitting the families of people serving in uniform, and the people it hurts most should help write the reform that follows. Originally reported by The Banner.
A plebe loses his mother
David Garcia started at the Naval Academy this summer. Weeks later, ICE deported his mother to Mexico.
“I don't know what David Garcia will do now that ICE has deported his mother to Mexico.”
Nobody would blame him for leaving
If Garcia walked away from Annapolis and said to hell with defending America, plenty of people would understand. Columnist Rick Hutzell hopes he stays.
Nominated for service
Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas put Garcia's name forward for the academy, citing his academic record and his commitment to serving the country.
“I proudly nominated David Garcia to the U.S. Naval Academy because of his academic excellence and commitment to service.”
She went to her interview
Maria Rocio Rocha lived in Texas under parole in place, a status that lets some relatives of citizens apply for residency. She showed up at the immigration office in San Antonio.
Arrested and sent to Dilley
Agents detained Rocha and took her to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas, a facility that holds up to 20,000 people facing immigration charges.
“She was doing everything the right way.”
A phone call, then a parade
Castro called Garcia on Sept. 2 to tell him his mother had been deported. The next day, plebes marched in full dress at the first formal parade of the year.
“Maria should be home, not torn apart from her family and life.”
Not what was promised
Trump campaigned on removing dangerous criminals and tightening the border. The Associated Press found the administration routinely detaining spouses and relatives of service members.
Protections stripped away
Citizenship paths tied to enlistment have been rolled back, Biden-era parole status revoked, and thousands of Haitian Marylanders face deportation with 20,000 Salvadorans possibly next.
Public opinion is turning
Support for the crackdown has fallen from about half the country a year ago to 35% in recent polling. Each case like Rocha's moves the number further.
“Eventually, I believe, the American people will do the right thing.”
The economy runs on them
Construction, agriculture and hospitality take the hardest hit, and Maryland's economy leans on guest worker visas. The damage spreads well past those three sectors.
“It's not just about economics. It's about who we are as a society.”
We have done this before
Laws in the 19th and 20th centuries cut off or expelled immigrants from Asia, Southern Europe, Mexico and Russia. The country recovered from those purges too.
“We are a nation of immigrants, and their capacity for reinvention is among the greatest engines of our society.”
Who should write the fix
Amnesty for the unjustly deported and a real path to residency have to follow. The people hurt worst, Garcia among them, should lead that work.
“We need the David Garcias of tomorrow to help this country move past the pain of today.”
The key point
The immigration crackdown is now hitting the families of people serving in uniform, and the people it hurts most should help write the reform that follows.
