A Local Student and Nevada National Guard Member Adapts and Leaves the State for Basic Training after Father’s Sudden Deportation to Mexico

It was recently time for drills in Carson City for a UNR student who is in the Nevada National Guard.

She woke up at 4:00 a.m. on the dot. She showered and made sure her hair was gelled down for a day's training. She commuted thirty plus minutes to the armory in time for the 6:15 formation. Her bags got inspected, she got weighed, and then her height was measured until physical training started.

She and her unit completed planks, pushups, deadlifts, a sprint drag carry, and a two-mile run all before breakfast.

After a quick meal, there was a full day of learning about navigation, ranks, and shooting until formation came around again. “Lights out at 21:00, then we repeat the same thing the next day,” she said of these once-a-month weekends for nearly a year and a half.

“I have been in the guard since February of last year, so that means a little over a year now,” she says. “The military gives me the opportunity to attend college while getting my entire tuition paid for and taking that financial burden off of my parents.”

Like many others in the National Guard, this commitment opens the doors to possible long term educational success, but for this member, who wanted to remain anonymous, it goes beyond the finances. The guard has “allowed me to help my parents with their immigration status here in the U.S.,” she explains politely.

Her life was deeply affected and turned upside down earlier this year when her father was abruptly deported.

During a physical altercation in early January, she says her dad ended up being arrested, proved innocent, but then deported to Mexico after his immigration status was found to be lacking the necessary update.

“After my dad’s deportation, life hasn’t been the easiest for me and my family. Losing my dad also meant losing the protection he made us feel. Him being gone has left my family feeling vulnerable, and I’ve definitely felt some pressure to step in and help my family more than ever before,” she said.

Leading up to the moments of her dad’s deportation, she recalls, “the day of my dad’s deportation my family and I were able to pack him a backpack with necessities such as clothes and some money and the day that I went to drop it off I couldn’t help but to get a little emotional and I remember the the ICE agent told me ‘don’t worry you can always visit’ and maybe he had good intentions when he said that but my heart sank because it’s more than just missing my dad.”

While the National Guard covers tuition and provides her with a monthly income, housing at the University of Nevada, Reno is not included. She needs to either pay it herself or leave it as another financial burden on her family.

“Things I didn’t really worry about before, such as rent and bills, invaded my mind,” she says. “My dad starting a whole new life in Mexico at the age of 50 has also made me want to step up to help my dad so he won’t have to work as much anymore, as he did here in the U.S.”

Before her dad was deported, he covered most of her costs of living on campus. “It wasn’t much of a problem, but now that our main provider isn’t here, there is a constant stress about how we are going to do it now,” she says.

Adapting to new realities, she recently shipped off to South Carolina as part of her basic training. “If everything goes as planned, I will be graduating from basic training in 10 weeks. After basic training, I will be going to Virginia for AIT to train for my specific job, which will be another eight weeks,” she said.

After her training, she says she hopes to be transferred into the military as a culinary specialist.

“Shipping out is one of the bravest things I’ve done in my whole entire life. It’s a feeling that can’t be explained to the fullest,” she said.

As she doesn’t have access to her phone one of the only ways of communication for now is sending letters and an occasional phone call to her family during her weekends.

“It almost feels like I’m functioning on autopilot, trying not to think too much, because no matter how scared I feel or how much I'm doubting if I could even do this, I’m still moving forward with this,” she says of her current transition.

As a child from a family of four, expenses keep increasing with each generation. Her mom is currently navigating new responsibilities as the main provider in their northern Nevada household.

“I felt nervous, I never thought this day would come,” her mom says about her daughter leaving, with her husband already gone. “I was simulating the days before she left. It makes a person feel empty. I didn’t miss her yet, but I still thought about what it would feel like when she did.”

She has been away from home for two weeks, explains her mom. “Having a complete separation is difficult, and every day I’m hoping she's okay. I remember she told me, ‘I’m scared, Mom, what if I can’t handle not seeing you guys and spending so much time apart, and it’s going to hurt being away from you guys.’”

A family once united in our area is now divided across the country and across borders, trying to find a new balance, as best it can.

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