This reminds me of the story of a young man I met in Detroit’s Mexican Town. He’s a convicted felon and has been twice deported to Mexico.

This is a pretty big problem for him because he doesn’t know anyone in Mexico and because his Spanish is very poor.

His parents, who have since died, brought him across the border without papers when he was 2 years old. They made their way to Detroit and settled down, sending him to public school where he grew up speaking English and thinking of himself as an American.

His mother died of cancer when he was 14, and his father died in an industrial accident when he was 17. When he was 18, he was arrested by Ice at the food processing plant where he worked. Having no documentation, he was deported to Mexico, though according to court documentation I’ve seen, the agents couldn’t even verify he was a Mexican citizen. Not knowing anyone in Mexico, and having no way to survive there, he crossed back over and made his way back to Detroit where he had friends and support.

He was arrested again, convicted of an immigration felony, sent to federal prison for a couple years, and then deported to Mexico again, where he still barely spoke the language, still had no connections and no way to survive.

He’s back in Detroit now working and paying taxes, hoping he can fly under the radar. He’ll never qualify for any programs helping immigrants, because as a convicted felon he doesn’t qualify for any of them, even though his only “crimes” are immigration related.

His life has for all practical purposes been destroyed, and not based on any choices he made.

He’s a really sweet guy, by the way. You’d like him. Everybody does.