Mario Robles, an Argentine citizen who lived the last few years with his family in Mexico, was detained and deported by immigration authorities after to cross into the United States with the intention of working and achieving the so-called “American dream.”

However, despite the fact that his immediate family is in Mexico, Robles was transferred to Buenos Aires, where the reunion with his family was marked by outrage and sadness. The episode sparked a debate about the conditions under which deportations are carried out and the harshness of the protocols applied to those who cross the border without authorization.

A dream that ended in deportation

According to an interview with CNN, Robles was born in Villa Clara, Entre Rios, and moved to Mexico in 2019 due to the Argentine economic crisis. There he built a life: he worked in restaurants and on construction sites. Later, he met Daniela and started a family with her and her daughter Roxana.

Stability changed when the death of his father-in-law in the United States led him to take on greater financial responsibilities and try to fulfill an old dream: to work in the US to save money and then return to Mexico with better conditions.

It was on August 16 when he began the crossing into the neighboring country through the Rio Grande, accompanied by other migrants. After crossing the water and boarding a van, he was intercepted by immigration agents. He tried to escape and hid in a ditch, but was detected by a Border Patrol dog.

Thus began his detention in Laredo, Texas, where he remained for almost two days in overcrowded conditions that he described as inhumane.

Later, he spent nearly three weeks without contact with his loved ones. It was thanks to the help of a TikTok user that he was able to speak with his mother and wife. The final notification was blunt: he would be deported to Argentina, far from the family waiting for him in Mexico.

The return flight and arrival at Ezeiza

On September 9,Robles was transferred to Louisiana and put on an Omni Air International flight carrying sports to different countries. He recounted that during the trip, he was shackled at the feet, waist, chest, and wrists, a treatment he compared to that of a dangerous criminal.

In the early hours of September 11, the plane landed at Ezeiza International Airport. The passengers disembarked in silence, dressed in gray uniforms and carrying few belongings. Outside, family members waited anxiously. Among them, Mario's mother, Natalia, hugged him for the first time in more than six years. The meeting was filled with emotion, but also with pain due to the experience he had endured.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that Robles entered illegally and was processed under the expedited deportation mechanism. Authorities believed the procedure followed established protocols; For the young man, however, it was humiliating and disproportionate treatment.

Mario's future away from the United States

Now in his hometown in Entre Rios, Mario maintains that he has no intention of returning to the United States. His goal is to raise funds to return to Mexico and reunite with his wife and daughter, from whom he was separated by deportation. "I entered the way I shouldn't have, but we were going to work," he said, recalling the reasons that led him to make the decision to cross the border.