(CNN) A US Army officer got a call he was dreading on Thursday.

His mom had been deported to Mexico. She called her family from the other side of the border to let them know.

"I feel betrayed, to be honest," 2nd Lt. Gibram Cruz told CNN affiliate KSWB . "A country that I'm serving, which I've served proudly... These policies that are put in place to keep my family safe have let me severely down."

Cruz and his family had been trying for months to convince officials to let his mother, Rocio Rebollar Gomez, remain in the United States.

The case drew national attention last month when the US Army officer flew home for the holidays and told the San Diego Union-Tribune he feared it would be their last Christmas together. Traveling to see her in Mexico wouldn't be possible due to military restrictions, he told reporters Thursday.

Rocio Rebollar Gomez hugged her 30-year-old son 2nd Lt. Gibram Cruz after he arrived at San Diego International Airport on December 18.

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