Family of Houston man being deported after 16 years in US speaks out

Rose ﻿Escobar's reflection is visible in a photograph of her family. Her husband, Jose, ﻿is being held for deportation to El Salvador after he went for his annual check-in with immigration officials. Rose ﻿Escobar's reflection is visible in a photograph of her family. Her husband, Jose, ﻿is being held for deportation to El Salvador after he went for his annual check-in with immigration officials. Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, Staff Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, Staff Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Family of Houston man being deported after 16 years in US speaks out 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

Jose Escobar, a Houston husband and father of three, has been caught up in the tightening enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.

After 16 years of productive life in this country, Escobar has just learned that he is about to be deported. During a required check-in at the local immigration office, an agent told his wife, "We're just doing what President Trump wants us to do with the new rules."

Escobar, 31, arrived in Houston in 2001 as a teenager from El Salvador. That's when he met Rose, a classmate who later became his wife.

This week, Rose Escobar explained the family's situation to Houston Chronicle reporter Lomi Kriel. You can read the full story about their struggle on HoustonChronicle.com.

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Jose's mother, who had come to the United States several years before he did, sent for him when he was 15 and eligible for temporary protected status due to the situation in his home country. His mother thought his residency permit would automatically renew when hers did, but that was not the case.

Also, the family moved and didn't get the notice that Jose had missed the deadline for renewal. Aside from the botched paperwork, Jose has not violated any U.S. law.

By the time he realized his tenuous status, the government had started deportation proceedings, but fortunately no one seemed to be actively looking for him. That is, not until June 6, 2011, when immigration agents stopped Jose as he pulled out of his driveway to go to work.

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Rose, a U.S. citizen and a receptionist at Texas Children's Hospital, said she "went into panic mode" and consulted everyone she could think of, including lawyers and elected officials. It apparently helped, because he was released in January 2012 and told to check in with immigration agents once a year.

The check-ins went smoothly until Wednesday, when he reported for his annual visit. After he and Rose spent the entire day waiting in the office, agents told the couple to say their goodbyes because Jose was being returned to El Salvador under executive orders signed last month by President Donald Trump.

A statement Thursday from Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that Jose is being processed for deportation. The statement said he was released in 2012 "so he could get his affairs in order prior to his removal to El Salvador."

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, said her office is working with the immigration agency to "come to some sort of resolution."