Return from Mexico
Imperfect Paradise
LAist Studios
4.5 • 535 Ratings
🗓️ 4 June 2025
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 2009, Gloria Arellano de la Rosa was banned from re-entering the U.S. for ten years, finding herself separated from her four children and husband. But unlike Daniel Zamora, she didn’t remake her life in Mexico. Every day she waited to go home to the U.S. Fernanda Echavarri tells the story of what happens when Gloria finally returns to the States and reunites with her family.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Support for L.A.S. comes from Car Pros Kia, featuring the 2027 Kia Telluride hybrid with a striking new design and family-friendly seating for up to eight. You can learn more at Car Pros Kia in Glendale, Huntington Beach, and Moreno Valley. |
| 0:15.2 | This L.A.S. podcast is supported by Cork and Fork Restaurant in Coachella Valley, with a farm-to-table menu of |
| 0:21.4 | chef's favorites and small plates. Weekly wine dinners feature winemakers and experts from all |
| 0:26.2 | over the world, available for catering and private events. Info at cork and forkwinebar.com. |
| 0:32.8 | Hey, this is in Perfect Paradise. I'm Antonio Serejido. Today's episode is a rerun from last year. |
| 0:39.7 | It's a story that my former colleague, Fernanda Chowardri, at Latino USA, had followed for years, |
| 0:45.3 | a story of a family that had been separated by the border. It's more relevant today than ever. |
| 0:51.7 | This year, President Trump promised the biggest mass deportation in U.S. history. |
| 0:56.8 | We've seen border crossings go down, immigration and customs enforcement arrests doubling |
| 1:01.3 | and detentions at an all-time high. This episode is about the human cost of these policies. |
| 1:08.5 | Stick around to the end to get the most recent update. |
| 1:11.8 | The story starts with a family in Tucson, Arizona, who are split up in 2009. |
| 1:18.2 | The dad and all four kids, ages 4 to 16, were all U.S. citizens, but the mom, Gloria, was undocumented. |
| 1:26.7 | And in the process of trying to get her green card, she was required to travel to Mexico, |
| 1:31.6 | where she was barred from returning to the U.S. for 10 years. |
| 1:35.6 | The 10-year barred to re-entry is the punishment for being in the States without documentation |
| 1:40.6 | for over a year. |
| 1:42.4 | And it doesn't mean you could automatically come back in 10 years. |
| 1:45.6 | It just means you have to wait 10 years before you can legally try to apply. |
| 1:50.4 | Daniel Samora received the same penalty. But while Daniel found a sense of peace and belonging in |
| 1:55.7 | Mexico, that would be impossible for Gloria because her kids and husband were in the U.S. |
| 2:05.8 | For 14 years, Gloria woke up every day wishing she could be reunited with her four children in Arizona. |
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