A look at a family’s life after a father’s deportation to Mexico
By Katie Nielsen
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LIVERMORE, California (KPIX) — It is perhaps the defining question about immigration of our time – what to do with the millions of people who entered the country illegally and lived here for decades as Americans?
That story is playing out in communities across the country, and also in Livermore with Miguel Lopez and his family.
His journey through our country’s immigration system begins in 1996. At 18 years old, he crossed the border illegally and got caught. He lied to Border Patrol Agents falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen, but he was sent back to Mexico. A few months later, he tried again, and this time, made it to Livermore with his family.
In 1998, Miguel was arrested for DUI and was ultimately convicted of a lesser charge. The following year, in 1999, he met his now-wife Rosa, a U.S. citizen. They got married in 2001 and started a family.
In 2007, Miguel applied for U.S. citizenship, arguing that he was married to a citizen and now had two children born in the U.S. who were also citizens.
In 2008, the Department of Homeland Security ordered Miguel to be deported. That long-ago decision to enter the country illegally – and to lie to border agents – had come back to haunt him, and also start a long legal battle.
In 2012, a judge sided with Miguel and blocked the deportation order. In 2016, DHS once again submitted an order for Miguel’s removal – an order he’s been fighting it ever since.
In May of this year, he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a routine court appointment and was deported a few weeks later in June.
His family is still living in Livermore, and for his wife Rosa, their family is everything. That’s why her Livermore home plays host to these kinds of family gatherings almost every Sunday night – now with a noticeably empty chair.
“When we have people over, he’s usually right there. Where my sister is or that one,” said Rosa.
She and Miguel have been married for 24 years. They have three children and one grandchild, all U.S. citizens, which is why she never thought they’d have a problem getting Miguel his papers when they first applied almost 20 years ago.
“I didn’t think it would be hard. My sister had filed for her husband at the time too. Her whole process was pretty smooth,” explained Rosa.
While he was waiting for his citizenship, Miguel was able to get a work permit and worked as a welder at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, while Rosa stayed home with the kids.
They bought a house and went on family vacations. They went to their son’s football games and say they were living the American dream, until that routine check-in at immigration court in May changed everything.
“He’s telling me he’s getting detained, and I was like you’ve got to be kidding me right? You’re lying. And I was like Miguel? Miguel? And Miguel didn’t answer anymore,” said Rosa.
Miguel had been detained by ICE.
“He’s the one who provided everything for us, and a whole bunch of stuff started going through my mind like what’s going to happen with us if he’s not here. I can’t get a job right away, am I going to lose my home? Am I going to end up on the streets with my kids? Just a lot of stuff. Is he going to be OK? It was just hard,” Rosa said through tears.
Miguel’s lawyer asked a judge to allow him to stay in the U.S. while they appealed, but just four hours before the judge signed the order saying he could stay, Miguel was deported.
“Where are you at? And he said, I’m in Tijuana. And I’m like, what do you mean you’re in Tijuana? It’s not supposed to go like that. He’s like I don’t know. They took me from McFarland to Bakersfield and now I’m in Tijuana,” Rosa said crying.
What happens once someone is deported from the United States, like what happened to Miguel Lopez? CBS News Bay Area’s Katie Nielsen traveled 2,000 miles to Mexico City to talk with Miguel.
“It’s different from over there. You used to live better over there than here,” said Miguel.
Miguel now lives in Chimalhuacan with his father, which is about an hour and a half outside Mexico City. Even though he grew up here, he says none of this feels like home.
“I want the best for my family. Not this. I mean, it’s pretty dangerous at nighttime, and even during the day there’s robberies all day long,” said Miguel.
He said his brother was shot and killed two years ago during a carjacking just a few blocks from where Miguel is living now.
He said his father’s house has been shot at multiple times in the middle of the night by what they say are roving gang members who demand money from residents in exchange for safety. Miguel and his father said they refused to pay, so they were targeted.
“I wouldn’t like my family to live here. Especially my granddaughter. I don’t want her to grow up here. It’s different,” said Miguel.
In the few months Miguel has been in Mexico, he said he’s tried to find work, but the only jobs he can find as a welder pay $65-70 USD a week for a 60-hour work week.
“You don’t make enough money. Not enough to support myself and support my family,” said Miguel.
He spends most of his time inside his father’s home, waiting for the few moments a day he can talk to Rosa and the kids.
“Hi, Mama!” Miguel said to Rosa as they FaceTime. It was the only time we saw him smile. Otherwise when we asked about his family, the emotions were just too much.
He started sobbing as he said, “I feel bad I’m not with them. Providing what they need. Like I did.”
Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell, who represents the Livermore, California area, flew to Mexico City to meet with Miguel.
“The way he’s been treated is just awful, and it’s not the way that you treat somebody who wants to contribute to our country,” Swalwell told CBS News Bay Area.
“Removing the invaders is not just a campaign pledge. It’s my solemn duty as commander in chief. I have an obligation to do it,” said President Trump during a speech on April 29, 2025.
“Miguel was here illegally to begin with. Why are you fighting for his right to stay?” Katie Nielsen asked of Swalwell.
“Miguel represents the best of America. He came here chasing the American Dream. And he didn’t take anything from us. He gave to his community, and now he’s been ripped apart from his family, sent to a place he doesn’t know, and what I want people to know is there are thousands of Miguels right now out there living this nightmare,” Swalwell said.
Mr. Trump promised to deport a million people a year, targeting violent criminals first, but as ICE agents conducted raids all over the country, they soon began detaining people who’d only committed nonviolent offenses and those with jobs, families, and deep roots.
“We’ve been working on getting dangerous criminal, illegal aliens out of our country. Murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, human traffickers. Going out, arresting them, and removing them from our communities so our families can be safe again at night,” said Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security during an August 8, 2025 speech.
CBS News Bay Area reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to get a statement regarding Miguel’s case.
In a statement it said he is “a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, has had final order of removal from an immigration judge since 1996. Lopez’s criminal history includes a conviction for driving under the influence. Lopez exhausted all due process and legal options to remain in the U.S.…After nearly 29 years of appeals and delays, ICE deported Lopez on June 6, 2025.”
“Nobody signed up for this. Americans wanted the worst of the worst offenders in our community to be deported. They didn’t want the best contributors like Miguel to be separated from their families,” said Swalwell.
In Miguel’s case that’s exactly what happened – teaching Rosa a hard lesson – that the only emotion more powerful than love is loss.
“Just everything is very different, how empty our home feels without him. This man worked so hard, and I’m like this is so unfair. He’s like I feel like I’m failing you guys, and I’m like, you’re not. You’re not. It’s not you. I know you’ve done everything for us, and at the moment you can’t, so now it’s my turn to do everything for you,” said Rosa, wiping tears from her eyes.
“What are you going to do if he really isn’t going to be allowed back?” Nielsen asked Rosa.
She responded, “I don’t think about that. I think he’s going to come home.”
Swalwell has introduced a bill that would allow Miguel to become a citizen. It’s called the Miguel Lopez Naturalization Act, but he said there’s almost no chance that will pass as long as Republicans control the House and the Senate.
CBS News Bay Area reached out to half a dozen Republican members of Congress from California to ask them about the bill, but none wanted to comment.
Miguel’s family has not given up their fight to bring him back. He has another court hearing on October 7th.
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