Houston Father Deported In 2017 Returns From El Salvador

HOUSTON — A Houston man deported in 2017 who was brought into the U.S. from El Salvador as a child, returned to Houston with U.S. Rep. Al Green on Monday, according to a statement from Green's office.

Jose Escobar, who was deported in March 2017, arrived with Green at Bush Intercontinental Airport on Monday.

"Today, I am proud and honored to witness this family’s dream become a reality," Green said.

Escobar, who came to the U.S. with his mother in 2001 when he was a teenager, was arrested by ICE officials on Feb. 22, 2017, when he went for his annual check in with immigration authorities.

He was detained for several days before he was sent back to El Salvador in March 2017 and given a 10-year ban from returning to the United States. However, Green took up his case and worked in both U.S. and in El Salvador for Escobar’s return.

"On Thursday, June 6, 2019, I had the bittersweet opportunity of visiting my constituent Jose Escobar in El Salvador for the second time," Green said in a statement. "It was bittersweet because Mr. Escobar should have been at home in Houston with his family, not separated from them in a country he left 18-years ago."

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Escobar came to the United States in 2001 and registered for Temporary Protected Status due to an earthquake that hit El Salvador that same year, according to Green's office.

Since his arrival in the U.S., Escobar was a law-abiding resident who was complying with his order of supervision prescribed by federal authorities. He was never involved in criminal activity, he held a steady job and eventually married and was raising a family with his wife in Houston.

Regardless, officials said in 2017 that Escobar never filled out the paperwork that would have helped him obtain legal status, which put him on ICE's radar in 2006. He was arrested by ICE agents in June 2011 and told then he was to be sent back to El Salvador and to get his affairs in order.

Escobar applied instead for a temporary work permit and was granted a provisional stay of deportation in January 2012. Escobar faithfully checked in with ICE officials until his 2017 deportation.

According to a press release from Green’s office, Green traveled to El Salvador three times to help foster a reunion with Escobar and his family.

"While, Mr. Escobar has now been afforded the opportunity to rejoin his family, there is still work to be done to reunite the other ‘Escobars’ of our Country," Green said in his statement.

Green added that on Jan. 3, he re-introduced H.R. 168 — the Reentry and Reunification Act, a bill designed to reunite immigrant families and provide a verified pathway to U.S. citizenship.

The provisions of this bill provide a pathway to legal citizenship for immigrants who do not have a criminal record, who were deported, and who have a spouse or children who are currently U.S. citizens.

This bill would also provide lawful permanent resident status to previously removed non-U.S. citizen individuals who are the parents and/or spouses of U.S. citizens.

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