" I would n’t wish what we run through on my worst opposition . "
Throughout both of his presidential campaigns,Donald Trumpsaid he wouldcrack downon immigration.
Now, one mixed-status family that faced deportation during Trump’s first term is goingviralon Instagram for sharing their journey to establish a new life in Mexico.
Candice Garcia-Sanchez, known as@_laguerita70on Instagram, is a 36-year-old project manager living in Puebla, Mexico. A video of a typical day as her husband and community build their “forever home” in Mexico recently wentviralwith almost 4 million views.
Text over the video reads, “Building your forever home in Mexico after your husband’s deportation.”
The video shows people working inside and outside of the home.
Including her husband, Fidel.
And Candice visiting the home with her 5-month-old son Daemon.
The work goes on for so long that you can see the transition from daytime to sunset.
“Baby, that house is solid!” this person said.
“I know how hard it is leaving everything behind to be thrown into the unknown. God bless your family and your home and I hope that you and your family are happy for the remainder of your days,” this person encouraged.
Several people criticized the US government. “Australian here. We changed our holiday plans from going to the US in October to going to Mexico instead. Refuse to spend a single cent in the US with this administration in power,” this person shared.
“Well, at least Mexico has a woman president. The U.S. needs to catch up instead of taking a hundred years back,” this person suggested.
“Honestly, I’m American but I want to be deported at this point,” this person joked.
Additionally, a lot of people had questions about the circumstances that led Candice’s family to Mexico. “Respectfully curious, if he’s your husband why was he deported? Wouldn’t that make him a citizen by marriage?” this person asked.
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Candiceaddressedthis question. “We fought hiscasefor over a year,” she said. “Contrary to popular belief, being married to a US citizen doesn’t guarantee any protection for an undocumented spouse,” she said. “It varies case by case depending on a variety of factors, and once a person enters without inspection, like Fidel did when he was 17, it makes it substantially more difficult to obtain legal status.”
" When he was carry , we met him in Puebla one to two days after he arrive there , and he moved there three month later , " she say .
She and her family have been in Mexico for eight years now, and have been sharing their story online for five years. “I was at work when I received a call from his coworker telling me he had been detained. In that moment it felt like all of the air had been sucked out of the universe. My first thought was our son Diego and how I was going to tell him his dad wasn’t coming home,” she said.
Candice and Fidel have three children: Diego is now 15 years old, Dominic is 5 years old, and Daemon is 5 months old. “We have always been open and honest with our kids, mostly Diego because he is the oldest, but as Dominic gets older, we have started to talk to him about our situation as he asks questions like, ‘Why can’t dad go with us to visit the US?'” she said.
This is their third and final year building their home. “Fidel is incredibly proud of the build, and we are proud of him. He has built our dreams with his bare hands and has focused on making sure every detail of this house is perfect and will be in our family for generations.”
“I’ve often seen people say I romanticize our life here, which isn’t true. I just show our life.”
If you want to learn more about how Candice and her family are building their forever home in Mexico, you can visit Candice’sYouTubechannel,TikTok, orInstagramaccounts.
