An Apopka woman whose father was deported to Guatemala and whose mother was detained and faces the same fate is now seeking legal recourse to bring both parents back to her and her three younger siblings.
With supporters, elected officials and immigration rights groups by her side, Beverly Juarez, 21, recounted her story on June 13 at a press conference outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Field Office in Orlando. The father was deported to Guatemala on the night of June 6, while the mother was detained on June 12 and awaits deportation.
Beverly Juarez acknowledged that her parents, Esvin Juarez and Rosmeri Miranda, did illegally enter the United States over 20 years ago and, due to fear, missed a court hearing several years ago and were ordered removed. In 2010, Esvin Juarez began his immigration case, and he and his wife sought to do right by the law, Beverly Juarez said.
Beverly Juarez has three younger siblings ages 15, 13 and 9 years. All four children were born in the United States.
For many years, she was afraid her parents would get deported but thought the family could keep fighting to stay in the U.S.
“Growing up, I always had a fear in the back of my mind,” she said. “I’ve been living with this fear for over a decade, I want to say, and I always thought that we can keep fighting. But ultimately, my parents, they’re not from here, and so this is a very real possibility that’s not happening. As time went by, my parents, slowly and surely, they were able to follow through every process and received that letter of bona fide determination for the U visa. By then, we were all very sure that we could be okay.”
In 2021, while in the U.S., Esvin Juarez was the victim of assault that included his life being threatened, which led to him being granted a U visa. The United States grants a U visa, a type of nonimmigrant visa, to victims of certain crimes who endured physical or mental abuse who could help law enforcement or government officials in investigating or prosecuting criminal activity, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website.
When Congress passed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act in October 2000, Congress had created the U nonimmigrant visa. This law was meant to further empower law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute cases such as sexual assault, human trafficking, domestic violence and other crimes while safeguarding victims who endured mental or physical abuse because of the crime and would like to help law enforcement agencies in cases.
As a U visa holder, Esvin Juarez did cooperate with law enforcement officials, Beverly Juarez said. In 2024, the Juarez family arrived at the ICE Field Office in Orlando for a regular immigration check-in, where her parents were granted one more year to process the U visa paperwork. Over the course of the year, the parents received a bona fide determination, according to Beverly Juarez.
“The bona fide determination process was created with the goal of conducting initial reviews of U nonimmigrant status petitions more efficiently and providing eligible victims of qualifying crimes with employment authorization and deferred action while they await a final adjudication of their petition for U nonimmigrant status under the annual statutory cap,” states the USCIS website. “This will provide victims with stability and better equip them to cooperate with and assist law enforcement.”
USCIS implemented the bona fide determination process in June 2021, according to the USCIS website.
Under the bona fide determination, Beverly Juarez’s parents received a deferred action, which means they could delay their deportation but done under the officer’s discretion.
“What that means is that the officer can use their discretion in a favorable way and grant them extra time to wait for that visa to come in, or they can just say, ‘We’re going to deport you because we don’t think that you should stay because you don’t have these qualifications,'” Beverly Juarez said.
Immigration rights groups, including Hope CommUnity Center (HCC) in Apopka, are helping the Juarez family by telling their story and working with elected officials, who are dispatching letters asking for Esvin Juarez’s return to the U.S. and Miranda’s release, according to Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, HCC executive director. According to him, the Juarez family has retained an attorney to handle their case.
“We’re working really hard to make sure that there is a voice, a community voice, for the Juarez families, and also for the thousands of other immigrant families in our community going through the same thing that this is a clear story of someone who had a legal path through a U visa,” Sousa-Lazaballet said. “Needless to say, this is a great injustice and against the Constitution of the United States. This family did not get due process, and as a result of that, now Beverly needs to take care of her three younger siblings. So that’s why we’re standing with her. We’re going to stand [against] it through the end.”
For several years, HCC has been fighting for humane immigration reform for families like the Juarezes, Sousa-Lazaballet said.
“We want to make sure that they get due process, but let me just be clear, that’s their right,” he said. “They’re not asking for any kind of different treatment. They’re asking to be treated fairly by the system.”
The Apopka Chief and The Planter are weekly community newspapers, independently owned and family operated, that have served the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923 and 1965 respectively.
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