SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
DACA has protected people brought to the United States when they were very young, as long as they were under 31 when the order went into effect and came before they were 16. Many of those who missed the cut-off dates face deportation to countries they've never known. Jose Mares was deported to Mexico almost a year ago. He was picked up in Southern California where he'd lived since he was 8 years old. He is now 39. He now works for a nonprofit group called Al Otro Lado, which helps resettle people who've been deported to Mexico. He joins us from Tijuana. Thanks for being with us.
JOSE MARES: Thank you for having me, sir.
SIMON: I know it must be painful, but can you take us back to last February 9, the day you were deported?
MARES: What happened that day was, you know, it started off as any regular day - you know, went about my business, got ready for work. And on this particular day, my daughter had to drop me off at work because she was taking the vehicle, you know, to get to work herself.
SIMON: Yeah. Your daughter is 18.
MARES: She is now 19, sir.
SIMON: Nineteen, OK, 18 at the time. Yeah.
MARES: Yes, sir. As soon as I got to my job, I exited my car, and I walked away probably like no more than 50 feet and, you know, I was apprehended by - it was either four or five ICE agents. You know, the good thing was that my daughter didn't see when they took me because I know she would have been probably even more devastated to see it happen.
SIMON: Do you have any idea how they - how they began to get interested in your case?
MARES: Well, I had a prior deportation from when I was younger for a minor drug offense. Of course, I had to return back to the states because I had my daughter. You know, I was a single father for - ever since she was 3 years old. And the way they found out where I lived, it was the day of Thanksgiving in 2015. I got pulled over because of - my tags were expired on my vehicle. And they took me in. They said I had what they called a misdemeanor warrant from 15 years back. And I went to court, like, four - four or five times, and they ended up dismissing the case. You know, so I thought that was over with, so, you know, I went about my life. And a little over a year later is when they came and picked me up and they said that - pretty much they told me that I went back on their radar for having been pulled over that day in 2015.
SIMON: Yeah. But you didn't know Mexico.
MARES: No, sir, I did not. This was, like, my first time actually having to live here since I was a kid.
SIMON: What was it like to get to Tijuana and to realize you had to make a go of things?
MARES: At first, it was scary because, you know, I'm being put in a country that I don't know.
SIMON: Yeah.
MARES: And I was just pretty much going by what you hear in the news, you know, that it's dangerous here, that it's a bad place. And I was desperate to get back to the states, mainly because of my daughter.
SIMON: Yeah. You tried, in fact, didn't you?
MARES: Yes, sir, I did. I attempted to get back. And, you know, I was caught, you know, because I was doing it illegally. But I felt like I had no choice.
SIMON: May I ask, is your life in Tijuana all - is it all longing to see your daughter, or have you been able to to settle in at least a little and find sources of joy?
MARES: Well, the first few months, I just - all I could think about was just, you know, seeing my daughter, being back home, being with my daughter.
SIMON: Yeah.
MARES: I would just sit and think, you know, of how it was and how much I wanted it, you know, to be the way it was before I was deported. But I couldn't keep on dwelling on that thought 'cause I, you know, it's just making myself miserable. And, you know, with the help of the organization Al Otro Lado, I've been able to settle into Tijuana better than I could have on my own. I've been able to find a home, and I'm employed with them. And things are better than what they were a few months ago. They definitely are.
SIMON: But you just - you can't get up on a Saturday morning and drive over the border and see your daughter anytime you want, can you?
MARES: No, sir, I can't. I wish that I could, you know, wake up every morning and hug her and give her a kiss on her forehead the way I used to do every morning and, you know, enjoy a cup of coffee with her and, you know, just do the things that we normally used to do.
SIMON: Yeah. Jose Mares - he joined us via Skype. Thanks so much for being with us.
MARES: No, thank you, sir.