Leah Millis

Borders Between Us

An Oakland family is torn apart when Maria Mendoza-Sanchez, her husband Eusebio and their 12-year-old son are deported back to Mexico, leaving their three daughters behind in America. 

  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez, center right, bows her head as her friend Tina Chaney, far right, leads a group prayer in the Sanchez living room with Vianney Sanchez, 23, left, Veronica Perez and other family and friends before the group left to see Maria, Eusebio and Jesus off to Mexico for their ordered self-deportation from SFO August, 16, 2017 in Oakland, Calif.
  • With tears in her eyes, Vianney Sanchez, 23, left, comforts her mother Maria Mendoza-Sanchez after a meeting the family had with Sen. Dianne Feinstein at the Sanchez home as siblings, from left, Melin Sanchez, 21, Elizabeth Sanchez, 16, and Jesus Sanchez, 12 look on August 10, 2017 in Oakland, Calif.
  • Melin Sanchez, 21, helps her father Eusebio pack the car by handing him luggage through the window August 16, 2017 in their home in Oakland, Calif. The family's application for a stay was denied, forcing Maria, her husband Eusebio and their 12-year-old son Jesus to self-deport, leaving behind their three daughters ages 16, 21, and 23.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez, left, waits at the ticket counter to pick up tickets and check bags for her family's deportation flight back to Mexico from SFO August, 16, 2017 in Oakland, Calif.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez says her final words of good bye while holding her daughter Melin, 21, as her husband Eusebio tries to keep his composure as they leave for their self-deportation flight back to Mexico from San Francisco International Airport August 16, 2017 in San Francisco, Calif.
  • Jesus Sanchez, 12, is held by his three sisters, from left, Elizabeth, 16, Melin, 21, and Vianney after a group prayer in their living room before leaving to see him and their parents off to Mexico from SFO August, 16, 2017 in Oakland, Calif.
  • Jesus Sanchez, 12, takes in the view of Pachuca during a government tour given to the Chronicle of various sights in Hidalgo Sept. 29, 2017 in Hidalgo, Mexico.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez rinses a rag in a concrete wash basin behind her mother's home while doing chores around the house Sept. 28, 2017 in Santa Monica, Hidalgo, Mexico.
  • Sanchez sisters from left, Melin, 21, Elizabeth, 16, and Vianney, 23, eat dinner as they wait for their daily video call from their mother in Mexico Sept. 8, 2017 in their family home in Oakland.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez pauses to greet her in-laws on the way to their home, Domingo Sanchez Mejia, 81, left, and Guadalupe Mejia Sanchez, 78, (not visible) as they herd their sheep back home after taking them out for grazing Sept. 27, 2017 in Santa Monica, Hidalgo, Mexico.
  • Melin Sanchez, 21, lays her head on the dining room table on top of a magazine that is addressed to her mother after dinner Sept. 8, 2017 in her family home in Oakland as she and her sisters video chat with their mother Maria Mendoza Sanchez, left, from Maria's mother's home in Mexico.
  • Eusebio's mother, Guadalupe Mejia Sanchez, 78, walks past welcome home signs for Eusebio, Jesus and Maria posted in her living room Sept. 27, 2017 in Santa Monica, Hidalgo, Mexico. The signs are leftover from about a month previously, when the three first arrived in Mexico after they were deported from Oakland.
  • Jesus Sanchez, 12, right, listens to the teacher read literature with his cousin Francisco Mejia, 13, left center, at school Oct. 2, 2017 in Santa Monica, Hidalgo, Mexico. School has been very difficult for Jesus to adjust to because Spanish is not his first language and the teacher is much more strict than US teachers are allowed to be. Much of the time, Jesus relies on his cousin to help him translate.
  •  Vianney Sanchez, 23 hurriedly copies letters from her phone to her father in Spanish and to her mother in English as her mother gives her final interview to media members before her father, mother and brother leave for their self-deportation flight back to Mexico from San Francisco International Airport August 16, 2017 in San Francisco, Calif. The family's application for a stay was denied.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez sits with family members and most of the neighborhood, including Paulina Vilchis, right, in a government office while trying to sort out paperwork relating to property she and her husband own nearby Sept. 27, 2017 near Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Children have a swing disagreement during a family christening party Sept. 28, 2017 near Santa Monica, Hidalgo, Mexico. Maria says family gatherings are bitter-sweet because she hasn't seen or even met many of them but they remind her that she is separated from her children.
  • Eusebio Sanchez, left, helps his mother Guadalupe Mejia Sanchez, 78, right, and his father herd their sheep home after taking them out to graze in Santa Monica, Hidalgo, Mexico. Eusebio spends much of his time with his parents, making up for years of lost time, helping them care for their animals and take care of their health. It's bitter-sweet being home, according to Eusebio. He is happy to see his family but also sad to be torn away from his daughters.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez walks into her mother's home where she is living with vegetables after running errands Sept. 27, 2017 in Santa Monica, Hidalgo, Mexico.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez purchases vegetables with her husband, Eusebio Sanchez, right, and some of their family at a market near Santa Monica, Hidalgo, Mexico.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez passes around photos of a property she owns next door while sitting with family members, from left, Elizabeth Villarreal,     Ariana Sanchez, Ambar Sanchez, 9, Jade Sanchez, 7, and Irvin Sanchez during a visit to check in on her property and take care of related paperwork Sept. 27, 2017 near Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Jesus Sanchez, 12, watches his grandmother Juana Alamilla Olguín, 69, for technique as he helps clear weeds in front of her house as a light rain falls Sept. 30, 2017 in Santa Monica, Hidalgo, Mexico.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez gently touches her son Jesus, 12, on the chin while talking to him about the food he didn't finish during a government tour given to the Chronicle of various sights around Hidalgo Sept. 29, 2017 in Mexico. Maria says that Jesus is a selective eater and had trouble adjusting to constant Mexican food.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez is seen on a cell phone screen as she lays in her bed in Mexico during a video chat with her daughters Vianney, Melin and Elizabeth as they finish up their dinner Sept. 8, 2017 in their family home in Oakland, Calif.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez talks sternly to her son Jesus, 12, about doing better in school as they talk about his homework Sept. 28, 2017 while Maria's mother Juana Alamilla Olguín, 69, right, looks on in Olguín's home in Santa Monica, Hidalgo, Mexico. Because Spanish is not Jesus' first language, he struggled with comprehension in school as well as adjusting to the new strict rules.
  • Vianney Sanchez, 23, center, shows her mother Maria Mendoza-Sanchez, lower right, pictured on screen, the mail Sept. 8, 2017 in their family home in Oakland as Vianney and her sisters Elizabeth, 16, left, and Melin, 21 (not pictured) video chat with their mother as she lays in her bed in Mexico. Though she is thousands of miles away, Maria does her best to stay highly involved in her daughter's day-to-day lives. Maria must also continue to pay her mortgage and other bills.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez watches the scenery flash by as she and a few family members drive from their small town of Santa Monica to the outer limits of Mexico City to check on a property Sept. 27, 2017 in Hidalgo, Mexico.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez tries to get service on her cell phone to call her daughters as rain continues to pour down Oct. 1, 2017 in Santa Monica, Hidalgo, Mexico. The weather often interrupts internet and phone service, sometimes for days at a time, cutting her off from her daughters and the rest of the world.
  • Sisters, from bottom left, Elizabeth, 16, Melin, 21, and Vianney Sanchez, 23, chat before falling asleep for the night in their parent's bedroom Sept. 12, 2017 in Oakland, Calif. The three began sharing their parent's bed once their parents and brother were deported to Mexico. Vianney says she is afraid that if something happens in the front of the house she won't hear it from her room and the three draw comfort from each other's company.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez and her son Jesus Sanchez, 12, video chat with Jesus' sisters as his father Eusebio Sanchez sleeps next to them before bed in their room which is normally Maria's mother's room in her mother's home Sept. 28, 2017 in Santa Monica, Hidalgo, Mexico. Maria calls her daughters at least once a day every evening to check in on how their days were and to tell them about their lives in Mexico. Maria later sent Jesus back to Oakland because his paperwork did not come through in time at the local school and he would have been held back a year.
  • Jesus Sanchez, 12, throws rocks into the bushes during a family christening party Sept. 28, 2017 near Santa Monica in Hidalgo, Mexico. Maria worries that there's not much for her Oakland born son to do in the small town that has maybe 200 people in it.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez leans on her husband Eusebio Sanchez during a family christening party Sept. 28, 2017 near Santa Monica in Hidalgo, Mexico. Maria says family gatherings are bitter-sweet because she hasn't seen or even met many of them but they remind her that she is separated from her children.
  • Vianney Sanchez, 23, hugs her little brother Jesus Sanchez, 12, after he arrived from Mexico in the Oakland International Airport as their sisters Elizabeth, 16, left, and Melin, 21, stand nearby Oct. 14, 2017 in Oakland, Calif. Their mother Maria Mendoza-Sanchez made the decision to send him back to the US after it was discovered that his paperwork hadn't gone through quickly enough for school and he would have to repeat the entire grade over again.
  • Vianney Sanchez, 23, gets food out of the fridge to make a favorite meal for her little brother Jesus Sanchez, 12, after getting home from the airport where he arrived from Mexico Oct. 14, 2017 in Oakland, Calif. Their mother Maria Mendoza-Sanchez made the decision to send him back to the US after it was discovered that his paperwork hadn't gone through quickly enough for school and he would have to repeat the entire grade over again.
  • Jesus Sanchez, 12, laughs at a viral internet video with his sisters Vianney, 23, center right, and Melin, 21, left, while eating his favorite meal prepared by Vianney after arriving back to their Oakland home from the airport and Mexico Oct. 14, 2017 in Oakland, Calif. Their mother Maria Mendoza-Sanchez made the decision to send him back to the US after it was discovered that his paperwork hadn't gone through quickly enough for school and he would have to repeat the entire grade over again.
  • From left, siblings Elizabeth, 16, Melin, 21, Jesus, 12, and Vianney Sanchez, 23, follow the service at their local Catholic church Nov. 5, 2017 in Oakland, Calif. When their parents left Vianney promised their mother that they would attend church services every Sunday and they have, finding a supportive community there. Their mother Maria Mendoza-Sanchez made the decision to send Jesus back to the US after it was discovered that his paperwork hadn't gone through quickly enough for school and he would have to repeat the entire grade over again.
  • Maria Mendoza-Sanchez lays on a chair, staring at the ceiling of her mother's home as rain falls unrelenting outside, keeping the internet and phone service from working, cutting her off from communication with her daughters Oct. 1, 2017 in Santa Monica, Hidalgo, Mexico. The phone service is very unreliable in the small town Maria now lives in and weather even as benign as high winds can take out the home's internet connection, cutting them off from the outside world. Many days Maria says she simply stares out the window, thinking of her children, her heart aching, wishing she was with them.
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