Joven de Bartlett dejará Estados Unidos para reunirse con su padre detenido por ICE

(LPL) – Después de meses de incertidumbre y desilusión, Edgar Pérez, un joven protegido bajo el programa DACA, ha tomado una decisión difícil: dejar Estados Unidos y regresar a México para estar con su padre, Gerardo Granados, detenido por ICE desde julio.

Granados, quien ha vivido en el país por más de 20 años sin antecedentes criminales, fue arrestado frente a su casa en Bartlett y trasladado a un centro de detención en Luisiana. Desde entonces, su familia ha intentado sin éxito lograr su liberación.

“Nos quitaron muchas cosas, pero no nos pueden quitar a la familia”, le dijo Pérez al canal FOX13. “Mi papá solo quiere salir de ahí y volver a vivir su vida, pero todo está en pausa”.

Durante semanas, Pérez mantuvo la esperanza de que su padre fuera liberado. Un correo de ICE incluso parecía confirmarlo, pero poco después supo que no era así. “Manejé hasta Nueva Orleans para hablar con un representante, y me dijeron que no lo soltarían”, contó.

Ahora, Granados tiene la opción de una salida voluntaria, pero sigue bajo custodia hasta que sea escoltado de regreso a México. Si no paga una fianza de $500 en los próximos días, se emitirá una orden de deportación inmediata, lo que le impediría regresar a Estados Unidos por 10 años y lo haría acreedor a una multa de $3,000.

Ante ese panorama, Edgar ha decidido poner fin a su vida en Tennessee. “Con DACA nunca fui completamente libre. No puedo votar ni salir del país”, explicó. “Prefiero regresar a México, estar con mi familia y empezar de nuevo allá”.

El joven espera que algún día su padre pueda regresar legalmente a Estados Unidos, pero por ahora, su prioridad es una sola: mantener a su familia unida, aunque sea lejos del país donde creció.

English:

Bartlett youth will leave the United States to reunite with his father detained by ICE

(LPL) – After months of uncertainty and disappointment, Edgar Pérez, a young man protected under the DACA program, has made a difficult decision: to leave the United States and return to Mexico to be with his father, Gerardo Granados, who has been detained by ICE since July.

Granados, who has lived in the country for more than 20 years with no criminal record, was arrested outside his home in Bartlett and taken to a detention center in Louisiana. Since then, his family has tried unsuccessfully to secure his release.

“They took a lot of things from us, but they can’t take our family away,” Pérez told FOX13. “My dad just wants to get out of there and live his life again, but everything is on hold.”

For weeks, Pérez held out hope that his father would be released. An email from ICE even seemed to confirm this, but soon after, he learned that this was not the case. “I drove to New Orleans to speak with a representative, and they told me they wouldn’t release him,” he said.

Now, Granados has the option of voluntary departure, but he remains in custody until he is escorted back to Mexico. If he doesn’t post a $500 bond in the next few days, an immediate deportation order will be issued, which would bar him from returning to the United States for 10 years and subject him to a $3,000 fine.

Faced with this situation, Edgar has decided to end his life in Tennessee. “With DACA, I was never completely free. I can’t vote or leave the country,” he explained. “I prefer to return to Mexico, be with my family, and start over there.”

The young man hopes that one day his father will be able to legally return to the United States, but for now, his priority is only one: keeping his family together, even if it means far from the country where he grew up.