A 13-year-old Florida girl speaks her truth through a 40-page picture book she wrote about the story of her mother getting deported and the fear and sadness she felt from being suddenly away from her.
Estela Juarez tells the story of her mother Alejandra, who was deported to Mexico after U.S. officials discovered she was an undocumented immigrant, in her book entitled "Until Someone Listens." The book, co-written by Lisette Norman, was published by Macmillan on September 13. It was a recollection of Estela's painful childhood memories, from learning that her mom was living in the country without papers because someone from the government came to their house one day to witnessing her deportation. Her mother had to leave their family for Mexico, an experience she described as having ripped them all in half to eventually living apart. She likened herself to a cloud, "a gloomy cloud that sits and stays" every day in that situation.
The book is currently printed in both English and Spanish editions with a cover showing an animated illustration by Teresa Martinez of a cartoon version of Estela in a pink shirt, shorts, and sneakers bravely standing in front of numerous media microphones and recorders. It signifies Estela's public fight and advocacy on behalf of her mother.
'My mother, a wildflower'
"Some see people like my mom as ugly weeds that need to be plucked out of the dirt. But they're not weeds. They're wildflowers, all with pretty shapes and colors, each one a different kind of beauty," Estela wrote in her book.
Alejandra's story became famous through media reports in the past years. A Mexican native and still 18 years old then, she illegally crossed the southern border into the United States to escape the dangerous living conditions in her country. But she was apprehended and was given the option by Customs and Border Patrol agents of going to detention or being released, provided she signed some paperwork. She opted for the latter, not knowing that she had signed a waiver to any right to citizenship or a U.S. visa in the future because she could not read. She returned to Mexico but soon crossed back into the U.S. again.
Estela revealed that her mother was able to attend high school after arriving in the U.S. and later worked as a waitress and was aspiring to become a lawyer. Alejandra eventually met her husband, Cuauthemos "Temo" Juarez, a former Marine and a U.S. citizen, and they settled in Davenport with their two daughters, Pamela, now 20, and Estela.
She was cited in a 2013 traffic stop during the Obama Administration yet was not considered a priority for deportation since she does not have any criminal records. She was just ordered instead to report twice a year to an immigration office, as reported by The Ledger.
Then 2016 arrived, Donald Trump was elected president and started a "zero-tolerance" policy on undocumented immigrants. Alejandra was found on the deportation list. She was taken out of the U.S. and back to Mexico on August 3, 2018, despite the pleas of her family and the efforts of U.S. Representative Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee.
After living apart from her family for three years, Alejandra, now 43, was granted one-year humanitarian parole last year, which was fortunately extended just recently until May of 2023. She is now back with her entire family living in Davenport.
'She is on fire'
Estela's mother is fighting for a permanent stay in the country. She expressed to Today Parents that she and her family don't know what will happen, but one thing is certain, she is holding on.
The story of Alejandra gained attention when it was one of the stories featured in the 2019 Netflix documentary entitled "Living Undocumented." This documentary also became the reason for Estela to be invited to the virtual National Democratic Convention, where she read a statement in her bedroom addressed to then President Trump. She shared that her father voted for him, yet his immigration policies tore her family apart.
The teenager didn't know it would become big and start a way for her to bring her mother back with them. Now when she remembers it, she is grateful that she became a part of it and was given the opportunity to speak and be heard.
After everything that has happened, being exposed to her mother's story and the stories of deportation of other families, Estela shared that she has it in her heart now to become an immigration lawyer. This is because of her strong desire to reach out and help other families, knowing that even with the publication of her book, immigration laws haven't changed much. She wants to help and see mothers and fathers reunited with their children in the U.S.
Her mother couldn't help but admire Estela's resilience and strength. She is the mother of a teenager she describes as a girl "on fire."
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