In August, Wendy Domingo was driving her parents and four younger siblings to buy school shoes when a Border Patrol car pulled them over. Her parents, undocumented immigrants, were detained after they could not produce citizenship documents. This incident exemplifies a growing trend where older siblings are left to raise their younger family members after their parents' deportation.
The Domingo family is one of more than 4 million mixed-status families in the United States, comprising both citizens and noncitizens. Following the detention, Wendy's mother, Maria Leiva, was deported to Guatemala, and her father, Abraham Domingo, chose to self-deport to avoid prolonged detention. Wendy, who had just turned 18, was left to care for her three younger siblings, aged 16, 14, and 12.
"The kids are the ones that are losing the most," said Mariana Blanco, director of operations for the Guatemalan-Maya Center, an organization that assists in reuniting minors left behind after parental deportations. Blanco noted that her group has been preparing families for separations since the start of intensified immigration enforcement.
Blanco stated that Wendy's family has community support, but the absence of parents leaves a profound sadness. "There's nothing else that can replace the parents," she said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told ABC News that ICE does not separate families and that parents are asked if they wish to be removed with their children or have them placed with a designated safe person. The spokesperson confirmed that Abraham Domingo and Maria Leiva entered the U.S. illegally and that Abraham Domingo had faced previous domestic violence charges, which were later dropped. The parents were returned to Guatemala and chose to leave their minor children with their adult child.
The Guatemalan-Maya Center has reported an increase in children left without parents following deportations, having reunited 57 children with families deported to Guatemala, Colombia, and El Salvador. The organization also assisted Eliza Perez, 21, who is caring for her three younger siblings after her parents were deported days before Thanksgiving last year. Perez has put her college education on hold to manage her parents' landscaping business.
After her parents were detained, Wendy contacted family friends for assistance. Her father had been an active community member at their church. Approximately a month after the incident, Wendy sent her youngest sibling to Guatemala with the help of the Guatemalan-Maya Center. She is now working at a hotel to support her remaining three siblings. Her younger sister has taken on cooking responsibilities, a skill her mother had encouraged her to learn.
"My parents really had the American Dream," Wendy said. "They were hoping they could have a life here for their kids and future grandkids, and that American Dream was just ripped out in the span of a few minutes."