Family is deported to Argentina amid tears
'Now I have to start all over again,' teen says
SALT LAKE CITY — Deborah Zalazar de Correa and her two teenage children, Kevin and Magali, sit quietly at a gate in concourse B at the Salt Lake International Airport. Their expressions move from sad to thoughtful and back again as they trade pensive looks, oblivious to the bustle of the busy terminal. A few seats away, two men in suits sit with stacks of papers, monitoring and isolating the small family.
It seems a world apart from their frantic arrival at the airport a short time earlier Thursday morning. As they arrived with their LDS bishop, the trio was quickly whisked to the check-in counter and then escorted through security and away from the other travelers.
During a brief contact with an El Observador de Utah reporter, Kevin, 17, lamented being forced to leave the country where he had been raised. He said it seemed strange having to return his U.S. history book to the school earlier in the day. "Now I have to start all over again."
"It is not easy for me," said Magali, 14, who has been in the U.S. since age 3. "I have my friends here; I love this country. This is home for me."
It is the culmination of two weeks of turmoil that has seen the husband and father of the small family spirited away to jail by officers from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency pending the family's forced deportation that will end their 10-year stay in the United States.
The mother, Deborah Zalazar de Correa, grips a cell phone awaiting word on when her husband, Claudio, will be reunited with them. Then it will be on to Houston followed by Buenos Aires, Argentina — a country they fled due to religious persecution for their Mormon faith, beginning a 10-year quest for asylum in the United States.
For Deborah, Kevin and Magali, the past two days had passed in a sleepless blur — packing suitcases, tying up school paperwork, saying good-bye to friends and wondering how Claudio was faring in his jail cell. A brief Tuesday night visit to the Utah County Jail was the only visual contact the family had had since Claudio's arrest on Oct. 22. A glass partition prevented any physical contact.
As the wait continues, Kevin and Magali talk quietly. Kevin sifts through a box filled with cards and letters from his friends at school and LDS seminary, telling Magali which friend had written the different missives. Magali sends text messages to her friends as she listens. Kevin reaches into his backpack and produces a small box. It is an iPod for Magali. Magali expresses surprise, hugs Kevin and then the two teens quickly focus in on learning the technology involved in the iPod's operation.
Deborah smiles as she watches the exchange, a pleasant, if momentary, diversion from her concern for her husband.
Deborah gets up and walks toward a nearby restroom. Just before entering she takes another long look down the concourse. Suddenly, she sees Claudio walking toward her down the long terminal hallway. She runs to him and throws her arms around his neck and they embrace. It is a prolonged embrace as Claudio gently rubs her back. Too soon, the ICE agent accompanying Claudio suggests they join the children at the gate. Arm-in-arm they walk to the seating area to join Kevin and Magali. Claudio hugs the kids before taking a seat between them. Deborah kneels in front of him, tears washing her face as she looks up into his eyes. For the moment they are in a new world and the turmoil of the past few days vanishes, replaced by laughter and the sharing of a package of M&Ms.
When Deborah makes the delayed visit to the restroom, she is greeted by the editor from El Observador de Utah. Deborah is thankful for the editor's discretion in not approaching her in the waiting area. She said she would not have been comfortable talking in front of the ICE agents and noted she had been warned not to talk with anyone.
Deborah said if nothing else, she wants people to know that the Correa family loves the United States and that they tried to do everything by the book. They followed all the rules (although they knew they were exposing themselves by paying taxes, getting drivers licenses and applying for Social Security cards) and Claudio always insisted that they do things right.
She cried a little as she said she was thankful to God that she has family members who love her waiting in Buenos Aires. She said that isn't the case for many who are deported. She said she is also thankful for the people she and her family love here in Utah and who love the family in return. Deborah said she is just grateful the family "is together and with God's help, we will be OK."
As Deborah returns to her family, the ICE agents escort them to a more isolated area of the terminal to continue their wait, and the start of their new journey.
e-mail: pdark@desnews.com; cskinner@desnews.com
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