The family of a Plano woman is pleading for help bringing her home. She went to Mexico for what she thought was the final step in a years-long process to get her green card.
Now, Pamela Hoyt may be stuck in the country for up to two years.
Hoyt moved to the DFW area from Mexico with her family at age two.
“She's lived here her entire life,” said Pamela’s sister Laura Vazquez.
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Hoyt graduated from Plano West Senior High School, got married and had two kids.
“Yes, we're from Mexico and all that but, like, our home, as I would say, is here in the U.S. We've never traveled outside of the U.S.,” said Vazquez.
Hoyt’s first trip out of the country, Vazquez said, was to Juarez, Mexico in September to meet with a consular for a green card she began applying for in 2016 with the help of her husband.
She was eight months pregnant and only expected to stay for up to a week. Now, Hoyt said she's stuck there.
“I miss home. I miss my husband. I know my kids also miss their school, their dad, all our family over there,” said Hoyt.
Hoyt said she'd been a DACA recipient since the program started in 2012. DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is a United States immigration policy that protects eligible immigrants who came to the United States when they were children from deportation.
This year, Hoyt said she applied late for her renewal.
“The max you're allowed to let your DACA expire is six months and I went two months over. I went eight months,” explained Hoyt.
Hoyt said her attorney assured her it was okay to travel to Juarez for her consular interview, but she discovered when she got there she can't legally return home.
“It’s just a god-awful situation,” said George Rodriguez, a Dallas-based immigration attorney who is not involved with Hoyt’s case.
Rodriguez said Hoyt will have to wait until she gets a I-601 waiver approved by the U.S. that forgives what's considered her "unlawful presence" in the country, triggered because her DACA recipient status expired.
“Sadly right now, because of COVID and other issues at the USCIS, we're looking at anywhere from 22 months and 26 months before the U.S. is able to process that waiver," said Rodriguez.
Since leaving Plano pregnant for what she thought would be a few days, Hoyt has since delivered a healthy baby in Mexico. Her husband rushed there for the birth. She’s now staying in Juarez with her newborn, two sons and the hope that she can come home soon.
“We're all just living day by day,” said Hoyt.
Hoyt's family has launched an online petition to state lawmakers.
They're asking that Hoyt be granted humanitarian parole while her waiver is processed.
“We miss her. We just want her back,” said Vazquez.
