Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share The journalist documenting her uncle's self-deportation
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
The journalist documenting her uncle's self-deportation
Welcome back to This Week on ICE.
The FBI stops investigating ICE encounters: On Monday, the New York Times reported that the FBI has stopped investigating ICE-related incidents, and all such issues will be handled internally by the Department of Homeland Security.
The reported plans signal a grave shift away from accountability for ICE in the wake of two deaths by shooting in less than a week. We broke down what we know so far and what it says about the state of justice and accountability surrounding ICE encounters.
“ It’s part of a larger sweep that we’ve seen since the shootings of Joan Sebastian Guerrero and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo — where this kind of ‘quiet’ approach that DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullen publicly espoused is being just completely done away with. … Independent oversight is falling away.” — Matt
Support This Week on ICE Podcast
Interview: Kimberly Avalos on documenting her own uncle’s self-deportation to Ecuador
This Week on ICE co-host Kelly Kimball (left) speaks with The News Movement’s Kimberly Avalos (right) for Episode 23.
The News Movement’s Kimberly Avalos has been reporting on immigration for several years. But she never expected the day would come that her beat would hit so close to home.
Earlier this year, her uncle received a notice from ICE requiring him to appear in court for a routine check-in related to his pending asylum application in the United States. But with the flood of news about arrests at immigration courts, Kimberly’s uncle took it as a sign that something had to be done — that it was time to make the difficult decision to return to his home country of Ecuador.
“My worlds kind of clashed, and a story that I was covering at work was also something that was happening with my family.” — Kimberly
This process has come to be known as “self-deportation.” David’s story reflects a growing reality for many immigrants who face an impossible choice: remain in the United States despite the mounting risk of arrest, death, detention, or third-country deportation, or return to the very country — and the dangers and challenges — they had tried to escape.
Kimberly produced a documentary for The News Movement tracking her uncle’s journey from his final days in the United States, through his flight back to Ecuador, and into the early days of rebuilding his life there.
“[My uncle] always thought that if he were ever to go back to Ecuador, his son would be there to greet him at the airport.” — Kimberly
David sought asylum in the United States after cartel members kidnapped two of his children for ransom, releasing them only after he surrendered his car as collateral. He hoped that obtaining asylum would eventually allow him to bring his entire family to the United States to live in safety. But a few years into this process, the worst happened.
David’s son, Alexis, was working as a taxi driver when cartel members targeted one of his passengers, killing both the passenger and Alexis. David could not return to Ecuador for his son’s funeral, as leaving the United States while his asylum case was pending would have jeopardized his ability to return. He never got to bury his son.
“He never saw him again. … [He said] the first thing he would do when he got to Ecuador was go to see him at the cemetery. I could actually kick myself because as I was recording I stopped, and that’s when he started saying things like, ‘This was the price I paid for the U.S. Was it potentially all for nothing?’” — Kimberly
On your way out: Follow us on social media
We’re building a community with our brand new, official TWOI Instagram, YouTube and TikTok accounts. Give us a follow if you’d like to get to know other fans of the podcast and receive up-to-the-minute developments on ICE and immigration outside of our weekly episode drops. You can also follow Kelly and Matt on Instagram.
That’s it for us this week. Please keep sending us your questions, comments, or tips to [email protected]. Thanks for listening. Stay safe, look out for your neighbors, and we’ll see you next time.
— Kelly and Matt
Get full access to This Week On ICE Podcast at thisweekonice.substack.com/subscribe
View all episodes
By Team TWOIWelcome back to This Week on ICE.
The FBI stops investigating ICE encounters: On Monday, the New York Times reported that the FBI has stopped investigating ICE-related incidents, and all such issues will be handled internally by the Department of Homeland Security.
The reported plans signal a grave shift away from accountability for ICE in the wake of two deaths by shooting in less than a week. We broke down what we know so far and what it says about the state of justice and accountability surrounding ICE encounters.
“ It’s part of a larger sweep that we’ve seen since the shootings of Joan Sebastian Guerrero and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo — where this kind of ‘quiet’ approach that DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullen publicly espoused is being just completely done away with. … Independent oversight is falling away.” — Matt
Support This Week on ICE Podcast
Interview: Kimberly Avalos on documenting her own uncle’s self-deportation to Ecuador
This Week on ICE co-host Kelly Kimball (left) speaks with The News Movement’s Kimberly Avalos (right) for Episode 23.
The News Movement’s Kimberly Avalos has been reporting on immigration for several years. But she never expected the day would come that her beat would hit so close to home.
Earlier this year, her uncle received a notice from ICE requiring him to appear in court for a routine check-in related to his pending asylum application in the United States. But with the flood of news about arrests at immigration courts, Kimberly’s uncle took it as a sign that something had to be done — that it was time to make the difficult decision to return to his home country of Ecuador.
“My worlds kind of clashed, and a story that I was covering at work was also something that was happening with my family.” — Kimberly
This process has come to be known as “self-deportation.” David’s story reflects a growing reality for many immigrants who face an impossible choice: remain in the United States despite the mounting risk of arrest, death, detention, or third-country deportation, or return to the very country — and the dangers and challenges — they had tried to escape.
Kimberly produced a documentary for The News Movement tracking her uncle’s journey from his final days in the United States, through his flight back to Ecuador, and into the early days of rebuilding his life there.
“[My uncle] always thought that if he were ever to go back to Ecuador, his son would be there to greet him at the airport.” — Kimberly
David sought asylum in the United States after cartel members kidnapped two of his children for ransom, releasing them only after he surrendered his car as collateral. He hoped that obtaining asylum would eventually allow him to bring his entire family to the United States to live in safety. But a few years into this process, the worst happened.
David’s son, Alexis, was working as a taxi driver when cartel members targeted one of his passengers, killing both the passenger and Alexis. David could not return to Ecuador for his son’s funeral, as leaving the United States while his asylum case was pending would have jeopardized his ability to return. He never got to bury his son.
“He never saw him again. … [He said] the first thing he would do when he got to Ecuador was go to see him at the cemetery. I could actually kick myself because as I was recording I stopped, and that’s when he started saying things like, ‘This was the price I paid for the U.S. Was it potentially all for nothing?’” — Kimberly
On your way out: Follow us on social media
We’re building a community with our brand new, official TWOI Instagram, YouTube and TikTok accounts. Give us a follow if you’d like to get to know other fans of the podcast and receive up-to-the-minute developments on ICE and immigration outside of our weekly episode drops. You can also follow Kelly and Matt on Instagram.
That’s it for us this week. Please keep sending us your questions, comments, or tips to [email protected]. Thanks for listening. Stay safe, look out for your neighbors, and we’ll see you next time.
— Kelly and Matt
Get full access to This Week On ICE Podcast at thisweekonice.substack.com/subscribe