"They Took Her Without Letting Us Say Goodbye" A Kansas Family Faces Separation After Immigration Interview
- Planeta Venus
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Pittsburg Kansas | April 24, 2025
By Claudia Amaro | Planeta Venus
“If I get deported, if I get taken, you need to take care of your siblings, and you guys need to take care of each other,” were the last words Carina Morán heard from her mother as she walked her into the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Kansas City Field Office for a green card interview.
“I walked her up to that building thinking that I would see her again. So, I didn't give her a hug. I didn't say goodbye to her. I didn't say anything. I just looked at her and I took her up to the door,” Morán recalls.
Carina Morán is the daughter of immigrants from El Salvador and Guatemala who have lived in Pittsburg, Kansas, for over two decades. Her father, Nixon Morán, migrated to the United States at age 19, and her mother, Rosmery Alvarado, arrived at 17. They met shortly after emigrating and fell in love.
The Morán family became part of the fabric of southeast Kansas—attending church on Sundays, school drop-offs, and community gatherings, where Alvarado found joy in raising her children and volunteering at local events.
Although Carina and her siblings are U.S. citizens, she recalls growing up with an awareness of her parents’ immigration status.
“Since I was 7, I would go to these meetings, and they would always tell us, ‘You guys have to be prepared. You have to know what to do if we leave and always stay with your siblings. You need to take care of each other,’” she said.
Like many children of immigrants, Carina often helped translate for her parents, becoming aware at an early age of the challenges they faced.
On April 23, 2025, life changed for the Morán family. After years of navigating immigration procedures, applications, and the effort to become legalized, Alvarado was detained by immigration officers—an outcome feared by countless undocumented families across the country.
According to Carina, her father filed a petition for Alvarado years ago as a green card holder. When Nixon Morán became a U.S. citizen in March 2025, he refiled the petition. Just three weeks later, the family received an unexpected interview appointment.
“Our lawyer didn't get notified. We decided, as a family, to not risk my mom’s process, but things didn't go our way,” Carina shared.
On the day of the interview, Carina, her parents, and their attorney drove to the Kansas City USCIS office. Nixon and the attorney went in first to assess the situation, asking Alvarado and Carina to wait outside. After a few minutes, they returned and asked Alvarado if she wanted to continue. She agreed.
Carina stayed in the car while the interview took place. She says the attorney later told her that the USCIS officer said things were going well and that Alvarado would be interviewed next, separately. But when Nixon and the attorney stepped outside, ICE officers entered through a back door.
“They lied to us, and they didn't let me see her,” Nixon told his daughter after the detention.“My dad was able to speak with an ICE officer who told him, ‘We arrested your wife, and she's going to be deported.’ That is all we heard after her detention,” said Carina.
Rosmery Alvarado is now being held at the Chase County Detention Center in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. The facility’s online records list her status as: “DEPORTABLE ALIEN – Present in violation of law.”
“Our family feels broken, and it doesn't feel the same,” Carina said.“It was really hard to come home and tell my siblings about what happened.”
Morán shares that her youngest brother, who has disabilities, is especially affected. “When he gets into his episodes, she's the only one that he'll talk to. It's hard to somehow fill that void for him. My dad has been terribly broken this entire time. It doesn't feel real. It's so quiet. Our home feels empty.”
The future of this family now depends on the decision of the immigration officials in charge of Alvarado's case. "We can only wait; my parents have decisions to make. We've spoken very little with my mother, but we know she's not doing well. She tells us she's cold and can't even touch the food. She just wants to come home to be with us," Morán concluded.
Although USCIS is a separate agency from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), both operate under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). USCIS is responsible for administering immigration benefits, while ICE enforces immigration laws. Since February 28, 2025, several federal media releases at the USCIS website now include mentions of detention assistance, and they show a different tone from the previous media releases by the same website—raising concerns among immigrant communities.
“People want to do things right, and we used to feel safe when we applied for immigration benefits if they were available,” said an undocumented Kansan who requested anonymity.“We felt safe walking into our interviews at the USCIS office in Wichita—but not anymore.”
The Morán family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover the expenses that will arise after this incident, which has definitely changed their lives forever.
