A cable news story on May 14 caught my attention because it involved a woman in Florida who had just been allowed to re-enter the U.S. after having been deported several years earlier. Alejandra Juarez was reunited with her husband and two daughters over Mother’s Day weekend. I recalled writing about her plight just before she was forced to return to Mexico in August 2018.

Alejandra was undocumented when she married Cuauhtemoc “Temo” Juarez in 2000. Temo was born in Mexico, served in the U.S. Marines from 1995 to 1999 and had become a naturalized citizen in 2002 before serving a 16-month deployment in Iraq with the Florida National Guard. They had two daughters, who are both U.S. citizens. The family had established firm roots in their Florida community and local church.

Alejandra’s immigration status came to light in 2013, but she was allowed to stay in the country under a “parole in place” policy. Unfortunately, the policy was later replaced with a no-tolerance policy that applied to military families, resulting in her deportation order.

Veterans for New Americans, an organization that advocates for immigrants in the military, veterans and their families, asked if I’d write an op-ed in support of the family. It was a privilege to do so, and Veterans for New Americans got the article placed in the Aug. 3, 2018 issue of USA Today. The paper chose to run it with this catchy headline: “It’s time for America to stop thanking veterans for serving, then deporting their wives.” That was pretty much the gist of the article. Unfortunately, strong support from her church and community, veteran groups and 17 members of Congress was insufficient to keep the immigration authorities from breaking this military family apart.

That was not the end of the story. The local congressman, Darren Sota, worked in Congress and with the administration to help the Juarez family, as well as similarly situated military families. Netflix featured Alejandra’s situation in a documentary series “Living Undocumented” in October 2019. Her daughters, particularly now-11-year-old Estela, worked as cheerleaders to bring their mom back home. Estela read a letter at last year’s Democratic National Convention, calling for Alejandra’s return. It all was effective in bringing the family back together for a Mother’s Day celebration.

Alejandra is just one of many military and veteran family members who have been separated or live in threat of separation. American Families United, an advocacy group, has estimated that almost 12,000 active-duty personnel had a spouse vulnerable to deportation. Several bills are pending in Congress to provide these people relief. It’s much easier to prevent future injustice than trying to cure a past injustice. Passage of legislation is necessary to provide Alejandra permanent status in the U.S.

Those safeguarding our national security should not have to worry that their families will be broken apart by an outdated, unjust immigration system. Knowing that their family members are secure and that, if deployed, they can count on supportive family members to be present upon their return, will allow service members to focus on keeping America safe.

Oh, and by the way, Estela Juarez is documenting her family’s story in a book titled “Until Someone Listens.” Perhaps it would be well to listen to what this young American has to say.

Jim Jones served as an Army artillery officer in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 and received an Army Commendation Medal for his work with an orphanage there. He served for eight years as Idaho Attorney General and was a justice on the Idaho Supreme Court for 12 years. He currently resides in Boise.