After being wrongly sent to Guatemala, Emily Ruiz returns to the country where she was born. Comprehensive immigration reform must address the issues encountered by millions of U.S. children in mixed status families

Emily Ruiz, a four-year-old U.S. citizen, has returned to her home in New York after being wrongly sent to Guatemala by U.S. immigration officers on March 11.

At just four years of age, Emily represents millions of U.S. children who face the possibility of being mishandled by immigration authorities because they come from families with mixed immigration status.

Accompanying Emily on her return to the U.S. was a delegation that included Ben Monterroso, SEIU’s Director of Civic Participation, who was born in Guatemala before becoming a U.S. citizen.

SEIU has been a leading advocate of reforming the U.S. immigration laws so that workers and their families are not impacted by errors and misjudgments created by the current, outdated system.  We celebrate Emily’s reunion with her family.

“I want to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala for assisting Emily and helping to reunite her with her parents,” Monterroso said.

Background:

Emily Ruiz was born in the U.S. She was sent with her grandfather on vacation to Guatemala earlier this year.  When she and her grandfather attempted to re-enter the U.S. at Dulles International Airport on March 11, immigration authorities informed the grandfather that he had an unresolved immigration issue going back several years. The grandfather was denied re-entry.

Young Emily could not travel alone. According to the family’s attorney, David Sperling, Emily’s parents were given two options: to place her in a custodial facility for children or to return to Guatemala with her grandfather. Emily traveled with her grandfather to Guatemala. She was not reunited with her parents until today.

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With 2.2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in North America. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers — not just corporations and CEOs — benefit from today’s global economy. www.seiu.org

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