In response to Trump's immigration enforcement measures, a woman from South L.A. voluntarily returns to Mexico, according to her family.
Ain't Your Average Assistant:
Say hello to Regina Higuera, a Southern California woman who've lived in the U.S. for 36 years, but recently decided to ditch the land of the free and head back to her native Mexico. As immigration raids and forced deportations by federal agents surge, she opted for a voluntary and less stressful exit.
Her daughter, Julia Ear, recorded the whole ordeal and shared it on TikTok, documenting their drive from Los Angeles to Tijuana on June 7. Protests against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown were taking place downtown L.A. at the same time.
Ear told the media that her mother, 51, made this decision out of fear, not wanting to be deported against her will. With immigration raids on the rise, the offer of $1,000 from the Trump administration for undocumented immigrants to self-deport seemed like the best way out.
But why take a $1,000 offer when you can drive yourself out? Higuera simply logged into the Customs and Border Protection Home Mobile App, informed the government of her plans to return home, and received her promised payment after confirmation of her return.
After leaving behind three grandkids in the US and driving her to the Tijuana airport, Higuera's family bid adieu. She flew to Mexico City and then drove five hours to Guerrero state, where she's planning to retire.
"My mom, with her complicated legal status, chose to do this on her own terms," Ear says in the TikTok video. "She has no criminal record, is a hardworking taxpayer and has been working 12-hour shifts since she was 15, six days out of the week."
This self-deportation program is just one part of the Trump administration's immigration policies. As of mid-May, around 51,000 undocumented migrants were in ICE custody, the highest number since September 2019.
The self-deportation program is operational, actively encouraging undocumented immigrants to return to their home countries. The first official self-deportation charter flight took off from Houston, carrying around 64 individuals from Honduras and Colombia. The administration has also arranged commercial flights for others in the program.
As of now, the number of people who have taken advantage of the government-sponsored flights is small—at least 64 confirmed in the first official charter, with additional participants on commercial flights—but the administration is targeting hundreds of thousands more with notices and incentives.
- Regina Higuera, a resident of Southern California for 36 years, decided to return to Mexico voluntarily due to increasing immigration raids and deportations, and she received $1,000 from the Trump administration for self-deportation under a government program.
- Julia Ear, Higuera's daughter, documented their journey from Los Angeles to Tijuana on TikTok, and stated in the video that her mother made the decision out of fear of being deported against her will.
- The self-deportation program, part of the Trump administration's immigration policies, actively encourages undocumented immigrants to return to their home countries, with the first official charter flight carrying around 64 individuals from Honduras and Colombia.
- The number of people who have taken advantage of the government-sponsored self-deportation flights is small, with at least 64 confirmed on the first official charter and more on commercial flights, but the administration is targeting hundreds of thousands more with notices and incentives.
