Goleta grandmother forced to return to Mexico
Juana Maria Flores, the Goleta grandmother who has been facing deportation, is being forced to return to Mexico.
Her attorney Kraig Rice said ICE has denied Flores’ request for a stay in the U.S. They instructed her to appear at the Santa Maria office on April 1 for deportation.
Rice has said this will be a hardship for her family because Flores takes care of her son with disabilities. Flores said she has no close family in Mexico.
In August of 2018, she checked in with ICE and her stay in the U.S. was temporarily extended. In February she checked in again and was told she would have to await a decision.
Flores has lived in the county since 1988, saying she was fleeing violence in Mexico and hoping for a better life in the U.S. She has 10 children and 15 grandchildren. Every other member of the family is American, except for Juana Maria. One of her sons currently serves in the United States Air Force.
