Deportation drama enters pro-Trump household in northern Indiana

An Indiana woman married to an undocumented immigrant for nearly 20 years is fighting authorities, claiming her husband has been wrongly slated for deportation.  

Even though she has been and is a vocal Trump supporter, Helen Beristain says she is puzzled because her husband Roberto is a good man and is in the process of applying for a green card.

“I understand when you’re a criminal and you do bad things, you shouldn’t be in the country,” Helen told Indiana Public Media. “But when you’re a good citizen and you support and you help and you pay taxes and you give jobs to people, you should be able to stay.”

“We were for Mr. Trump,” she added. “We were very happy he became the president. Whatever he says, he is right. But, like he said, the good people have a chance to become citizens of the United States.”

Like many others, Roberto Beristain was arrested when he was doing his yearly check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Indianapolis.

The man entered the ICE radar when in 2000, during a family trip to Niagara Falls, he inadvertently crossed the border into Canada. Federal authorities found out he was in the country illegally when he tried to reenter the U.S.

After the incident, Beristain was ordered to leave the country voluntarily twice, but he refused.

“[Trump] did say the good people would not be deported, the good people would be checked,” Helen said. 

Beristain has been in detention since Feb. 6 and reportedly will be put in a plane to Mexico this weekend.

If Roberto is deported, he could be barred from entering the U.S. for up to a decade, according to the Indiana outlet.