'Not a criminal': Woman self-deports to Mexico after living in US for 36 years; was 'scared for her safety'

A woman who has lived and worked in the US for 36 years has self-deported to Mexico after having lived in the country since she was 15.

Regina Higuera, 51, is a garment worker whose work permit had expired years ago, has left behind her three American-born children and her husband of 25 years. Her initial plan was to return home after she had retired but under current circumstances she decided to speed up the process.

Higuera did not have enough money to apply for documents and was motivated by fear for her safety as immigration raids became quite frequent in her residential area of Highland Park.

“We were heartbroken that she felt so scared for her safety that she had to make this decision, but we were ultimately supportive,” said her daughter Julie Ear, as reported by the People. “We have friends that were deported, some were missing for a week without knowing anything about where they were.”

“She felt like a prisoner in her own home,” said Ear, noting that even carrying out daily errands had become quite difficult for Higuera. “She has been working in this country for decades to only live paycheck to paycheck,” she added.

“My mom chose to take control of her life and did not allow this country, which she spent years contributing to, tell her that she was a criminal because she is not."

Fearing questioning or detention at Los Angeles International Airport, Higuera and her family traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, and crossed the border to fly out from TIJ International Airport. From then on Higuera flew into Mexico City and drove for nearly five hours to get to Guerrero, Mexico.

Higuera is “a hard-working taxpayer who has been working 12-hour shifts since she was 15, six days out of the week,” and holds “no criminal record,” as per Ear. The family plans to visit their mother in August.

“She is trying to lean on family out there so she doesn't feel lonely, but she is having a hard time adjusting to the cultural differences… they do things differently out there,” said Ear.

Ear has around 100,000 followers across all her social media platforms and is vocal about "injustices" occurring in her city and the nation. She is also involved with grassroot organizations aiming to usher in change.

“I would like to clarify that I do not want this to be an advertisement for self-deportation, but I also want to let people know that if they are thinking of taking this step, it is not the end of the world and that there are options,” she said, as reported by the People.

US president Donald Trump has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation effort in US history, targeting over 10 million undocumented immigrants. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement has allegedly received orders from the administration to detain 3,000 immigrants every day.