A Honduran mother returns home after being unable to secure prosthetics and facing immigration fears in the U.S.
HOUSTON — A Honduran mother who once lived in Houston has voluntarily returned to her home country after being unable to secure prosthetics and facing growing fear under immigration crackdowns, according to a report from CNN.
Yésica Paola Ramírez, a 29-year-old mother of four, left Houston with her youngest daughter on February 24, flying back to Honduras after raising money from Houston’s Hispanic community to purchase plane tickets. Ramírez had moved to the U.S. in late September 2023, hoping to work and buy prosthetics after losing an arm and leg in an accident more than five years ago.
Ramírez said life in Honduras was difficult before she left, especially for her children.
“They told my children I had a wooden-legged mother, so I told them, ‘No, kids, don’t worry. I’m not going to do that anymore. I’m going to change. I’m going to go to the United States,’” Ramírez said.
After more than a year in Houston without raising enough money to buy her prosthetics, Ramírez said growing immigration enforcement under the Trump administration pushed her to leave. She recounted living in fear as immigration agents reportedly began door-to-door checks in her apartment complex.
“They were already knocking on doors, knocking on apartment doors, and I said, ‘My daughter is in school, and I’m here in the apartment. They’ll grab me and deport me,’” Ramírez told CNN.
She said she initially attempted to surrender to U.S. authorities to be deported but was turned away.
“ICE told me they didn’t have authorization to deport me because I don’t even have a criminal record,” Ramírez said.
Eventually, she chose to self-deport.
“I didn’t feel well, and I cried every day and night. Sometimes I wouldn’t eat because I didn’t feel well. So that’s when I decided to self-deport.”
Now back in San Bernardo, Honduras, Ramírez says she does not intend to return to the U.S.
“Not even in my dreams, I don’t think I want to have anything to do with the United States, not even in my head. But now, the way things are, I don’t want to anymore.”
Ramírez told CNN she is content to remain at home with her family.