Latest news with #JulioMendoza
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Fearing ICE crackdown, this family self-deports
Fearing ICE crackdown, this family self-deports Fearing increased immigration enforcement, undocumented immigrant Julio Mendoza and his American wife, Sasha, made the difficult decision to self-deport to Mexico with their three children, all of whom are US Citizens. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez reports. 01:35 - Source: CNN Media mogul's 'one big fear' growing up made 'other fears disappear' Billionaire media mogul and IAC Chairman Barry Diller speaks to CNN's Christiane Amanpour about his new memoir, "Who Knew," and details how he had a "higher tolerance for risk" throughout his career. 02:13 - Source: CNN DOJ moves to release grand jury testimony in Epstein case The Trump administration's chaotic handling of the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files continued as the Justice Department asked a federal judge to make public years-old grand jury testimony made behind closed doors against the convicted sex offender. CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid reports. 01:19 - Source: CNN Dentist asked for help making deepfake of victim, daughter says CNN's Whitney Wild breaks down the testimony from Colorado dentist James Craig's daughter, who says he asked her to create a deepfake video of her mom asking for chemicals. She said Craig gave instructions in a letter for how to create the deepfake video of his wife. James Craig is accused of poisoning his wife, Angela, in March 2023. 02:32 - Source: CNN Ex-prosecutor explains what Epstein docs could get released President Donald Trump has asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to unseal pertinent testimony related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, as he appeared to bow to pressure to release more material on the case. CNN's Elie Honig explains what documents could get released. 01:20 - Source: CNN Cardiologist reacts to Trump's diagnosis CNN medical analyst and cardiologist Dr. Jonathan Reiner breaks down President Donald Trump's chronic venous insufficiency diagnosis. 01:12 - Source: CNN Trump diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency President Donald Trump was examined for swelling in his legs and has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced. 01:21 - Source: CNN Five charged in connection with UC Berkeley professor's death in Greece Five people, including the former spouse of UC Berkley Professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski, have been charged in connection with his death. CNN has learned from a police source that the current partner of the professor's ex-wife has confessed to the killing. Three others have also been charged as accomplices, police say. 01:50 - Source: CNN Democrats walk out before vote for controversial Trump nominee Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans voted on Thursday to advance the nomination of Emil Bove, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, to a federal judgeship, over the loud protests of Democrats. 01:42 - Source: CNN CNN visits boys camp devastated by Texas floods Camp La Junta is an all-boys camp in Texas that was devastated by flooding on July 4th. The owners gave CNN rare access to see the damage after the storm. 01:53 - Source: CNN Trump DOJ fires federal prosecutor in Epstein case Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor in the case against accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, has been fired from her job in the Southern District of New York, according to people familiar with the situation. 01:56 - Source: CNN Brazil's Lula tells Christiane Amanpour: Trump 'Was not elected to be emperor of the world' Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview it was 'a surprise' to see President Donald Trump's letter posted to Truth Social, threatening Brazil with a crippling tariff of 50% starting August 1st. Lula says that he initially thought the letter was 'fake news.' Watch the full 'Amanpour' interview on CNN. 01:33 - Source: CNN Gaza's only Catholic church hit by Israeli strike Gaza's only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli tank, killing three and injuring many more, church officials said. It became internationally recognized after reports emerged that the late Pope Francis used to call the church daily. CNN's Nada Bashir reports 00:53 - Source: CNN Taiwan conducts 10-day military drill The Taiwanese government is preparing for a war they hope will never happen. For the first time this year, Taiwan combined two major civil defense exercises, with the drills lasting ten days. These drills have included urban combat, mass casualty simulations, emergency supply drops and cyber defense that could be enacted if an invasion was to occur. CNN's Senior International Correspondent, Will Ripley, reports. 01:44 - Source: CNN Lightning bolt strikes near delivery man Video shows a lightning strike nearly hitting a delivery man in Wayne, New Jersey, as storms took place across the Mid-Atlantic. 00:36 - Source: CNN Trump ramping up pressure on Fed chair The White House pressure campaign for the Chair of the Federal Reserve, Jay Powell, to lower interest rates escalated sharply Wednesday morning. CNN's Phil Mattingly breaks down Trump's strategy and how markets are responding. 02:54 - Source: CNN Hikers confront man allegedly setting a tree on fire in LA Video shows a tense moment where hikers confronted a man for allegedly starting a fire near Runyon Canyon Park in Los Angeles on Sunday and prevented him from leaving the scene. Andrew Ocalliham was arrested and charged with one count of arson of forest land, court records show. 01:23 - Source: CNN Massive fire destroys Tomorrowland's main stage Tomorrowland's main stage went up in flames just days ahead of the festival's opening in Boom, Belgium. 00:38 - Source: CNN The Obamas address divorce rumors on Michelle's podcast Former President Barack Obama joined his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, on her latest podcast episode with her brother Craig Robinson to address divorce rumors. In recent months, speculation about their marriage has run rampant after several public appearances where Michelle Obama did not join her husband, including at President Donald Trump's inauguration in January. 01:52 - Source: CNN How Trump's image is changing inside Russia Once hailed as a pro-Kremlin figure, President Donald Trump's image is changing inside Russia. It comes after Trump vowed further sanctions on the country if a peace agreement with Ukraine is not reached in 50 days. CNN's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent is on the ground in Moscow with the analysis. 01:41 - Source: CNN Syrian anchor takes cover from airstrike live on TV An airstrike on the Syrian Ministry of Defense was captured live on Syria TV, forcing the anchor to take cover. Israel has been carrying out airstrikes on Syria as part of its commitment to protect the Druze, an Arab minority at the center of clashes with government loyalists. 00:30 - Source: CNN Trump says interest in Epstein files is 'pretty boring stuff' President Donald Trump said he doesn't understand his supporters' continued interest in the Epstein files, calling it "boring," while also reiterating his call for anything 'credible' to be released. 00:56 - Source: CNN
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Fearing ICE crackdown, this family self-deports
Fearing ICE crackdown, this family self-deports Fearing increased immigration enforcement, undocumented immigrant Julio Mendoza and his American wife, Sasha, made the difficult decision to self-deport to Mexico with their three children, all of whom are US Citizens. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez reports. 01:35 - Source: CNN Media mogul's 'one big fear' growing up made 'other fears disappear' Billionaire media mogul and IAC Chairman Barry Diller speaks to CNN's Christiane Amanpour about his new memoir, "Who Knew," and details how he had a "higher tolerance for risk" throughout his career. 02:13 - Source: CNN DOJ moves to release grand jury testimony in Epstein case The Trump administration's chaotic handling of the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files continued as the Justice Department asked a federal judge to make public years-old grand jury testimony made behind closed doors against the convicted sex offender. CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid reports. 01:19 - Source: CNN Dentist asked for help making deepfake of victim, daughter says CNN's Whitney Wild breaks down the testimony from Colorado dentist James Craig's daughter, who says he asked her to create a deepfake video of her mom asking for chemicals. She said Craig gave instructions in a letter for how to create the deepfake video of his wife. James Craig is accused of poisoning his wife, Angela, in March 2023. 02:32 - Source: CNN Ex-prosecutor explains what Epstein docs could get released President Donald Trump has asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to unseal pertinent testimony related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, as he appeared to bow to pressure to release more material on the case. CNN's Elie Honig explains what documents could get released. 01:20 - Source: CNN Cardiologist reacts to Trump's diagnosis CNN medical analyst and cardiologist Dr. Jonathan Reiner breaks down President Donald Trump's chronic venous insufficiency diagnosis. 01:12 - Source: CNN Trump diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency President Donald Trump was examined for swelling in his legs and has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced. 01:21 - Source: CNN Five charged in connection with UC Berkeley professor's death in Greece Five people, including the former spouse of UC Berkley Professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski, have been charged in connection with his death. CNN has learned from a police source that the current partner of the professor's ex-wife has confessed to the killing. Three others have also been charged as accomplices, police say. 01:50 - Source: CNN Democrats walk out before vote for controversial Trump nominee Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans voted on Thursday to advance the nomination of Emil Bove, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, to a federal judgeship, over the loud protests of Democrats. 01:42 - Source: CNN CNN visits boys camp devastated by Texas floods Camp La Junta is an all-boys camp in Texas that was devastated by flooding on July 4th. The owners gave CNN rare access to see the damage after the storm. 01:53 - Source: CNN Trump DOJ fires federal prosecutor in Epstein case Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor in the case against accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, has been fired from her job in the Southern District of New York, according to people familiar with the situation. 01:56 - Source: CNN Brazil's Lula tells Christiane Amanpour: Trump 'Was not elected to be emperor of the world' Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview it was 'a surprise' to see President Donald Trump's letter posted to Truth Social, threatening Brazil with a crippling tariff of 50% starting August 1st. Lula says that he initially thought the letter was 'fake news.' Watch the full 'Amanpour' interview on CNN. 01:33 - Source: CNN Gaza's only Catholic church hit by Israeli strike Gaza's only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli tank, killing three and injuring many more, church officials said. It became internationally recognized after reports emerged that the late Pope Francis used to call the church daily. CNN's Nada Bashir reports 00:53 - Source: CNN Taiwan conducts 10-day military drill The Taiwanese government is preparing for a war they hope will never happen. For the first time this year, Taiwan combined two major civil defense exercises, with the drills lasting ten days. These drills have included urban combat, mass casualty simulations, emergency supply drops and cyber defense that could be enacted if an invasion was to occur. CNN's Senior International Correspondent, Will Ripley, reports. 01:44 - Source: CNN Lightning bolt strikes near delivery man Video shows a lightning strike nearly hitting a delivery man in Wayne, New Jersey, as storms took place across the Mid-Atlantic. 00:36 - Source: CNN Trump ramping up pressure on Fed chair The White House pressure campaign for the Chair of the Federal Reserve, Jay Powell, to lower interest rates escalated sharply Wednesday morning. CNN's Phil Mattingly breaks down Trump's strategy and how markets are responding. 02:54 - Source: CNN Hikers confront man allegedly setting a tree on fire in LA Video shows a tense moment where hikers confronted a man for allegedly starting a fire near Runyon Canyon Park in Los Angeles on Sunday and prevented him from leaving the scene. Andrew Ocalliham was arrested and charged with one count of arson of forest land, court records show. 01:23 - Source: CNN Massive fire destroys Tomorrowland's main stage Tomorrowland's main stage went up in flames just days ahead of the festival's opening in Boom, Belgium. 00:38 - Source: CNN The Obamas address divorce rumors on Michelle's podcast Former President Barack Obama joined his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, on her latest podcast episode with her brother Craig Robinson to address divorce rumors. In recent months, speculation about their marriage has run rampant after several public appearances where Michelle Obama did not join her husband, including at President Donald Trump's inauguration in January. 01:52 - Source: CNN How Trump's image is changing inside Russia Once hailed as a pro-Kremlin figure, President Donald Trump's image is changing inside Russia. It comes after Trump vowed further sanctions on the country if a peace agreement with Ukraine is not reached in 50 days. CNN's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent is on the ground in Moscow with the analysis. 01:41 - Source: CNN Syrian anchor takes cover from airstrike live on TV An airstrike on the Syrian Ministry of Defense was captured live on Syria TV, forcing the anchor to take cover. Israel has been carrying out airstrikes on Syria as part of its commitment to protect the Druze, an Arab minority at the center of clashes with government loyalists. 00:30 - Source: CNN Trump says interest in Epstein files is 'pretty boring stuff' President Donald Trump said he doesn't understand his supporters' continued interest in the Epstein files, calling it "boring," while also reiterating his call for anything 'credible' to be released. 00:56 - Source: CNN
CNN
16-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
‘There are no limits on being a target': Why this family is self-deporting to Mexico
Fearing increased immigration enforcement, undocumented immigrant Julio Mendoza and his American wife, Sasha, made the difficult decision to self-deport to Mexico with their three children, all of whom are US Citizens. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez reports.
CNN
16-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
‘There are no limits on being a target': Why this family is self-deporting to Mexico
Fearing increased immigration enforcement, undocumented immigrant Julio Mendoza and his American wife, Sasha, made the difficult decision to self-deport to Mexico with their three children, all of whom are US Citizens. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez reports.
CNN
09-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
‘Everything we do, we do together': Inside a family's decision to self-deport from the US
Sasha and Julio Mendoza are saying goodbye to the United States for good. But the decision didn't come easily. The two identify as Pittsburgh natives — arguably Julio more than Sasha, they joke, even though he arrived in the United States when he was 11 years old. 'When I first met him, his name on all his social media was 'Mexican Yinzer.' The first date he was like, all Steelers gear. It's been like his entire personality,' Sasha said as they both laughed. Julio is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. Sasha and their three young children are US citizens. For seven years, they've navigated being a mixed-status household, but the return of President Donald Trump to office changed their plans. 'I've literally never felt anxiety the way that I have in the last few years here,' Sasha told CNN. Trump campaigned on an aggressive and sweeping immigration enforcement agenda. Within hours of taking office, he signed dozens of executive orders cracking down on undocumented immigrants in the country. 'All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,' Trump said in his inaugural address. Trump's push prompted a question from Sasha to Julio: Was it time to leave? 'It was an executive order being signed. And that was her call first, like, 'What do you think about moving to Mexico?' And I said, 'Honestly, at this point, yeah, let's do it,'' Julio said. Over the course of six months, Sasha, Julio and their children — ages 8, 5 and 4 — began winding down their life in Pittsburgh, including packing up their home, weighing plans for their local construction business, and researching life in Mexico. The family of five now joins a newly emerging community of people who have chosen to voluntarily depart the United States, fearful of the potential consequences they'd face if they stayed in the country without legal status. Senior Trump officials have repeatedly touted self-deportations — part of a broader effort to ramp up the number of undocumented immigrants leaving the United States. That push has included a multimillion-dollar ad campaign telling people to 'leave now'; retooling a US Customs and Border Protection app to facilitate self-deportations; and offering money to those who depart. But it's not just people who are undocumented taking the leap. Some US citizens, like Sasha and her three children, have opted to leave with their spouses. Julio, 32, crossed the US-Mexico border when he was 11 years old at the urging of his mother. He was amazed when he arrived in Pittsburgh to live with his parents. Taking in the city and the towering buildings, Julio described thinking: 'This is the American dream they're talking about. This is what I came here for.' It didn't dawn on him that he was in the US with no papers until his teenage years, when he tried seeking a higher education, hoping to pursue a career in pediatrics. That, he says, shifted his plans, and he eventually landed in construction. But his love for Pittsburgh remained strong, he said, touting a book he purchased on how to speak Pittsburghese, learning the city's history, and becoming a die-hard Steelers fan. Then, in 2018, he met Sasha, now 30. The two instantly fell for each other. 'I don't know if he just didn't want to lead with that because it's a weird thing to lead with and I didn't want to ask because it is a weird thing to ask, so we kind of were mentioning it without mentioning it,' Sasha recalled, when asked about whether Julio's undocumented status came up while dating. 'At one point, he ordered a drink, and he asked for extra ice and I said, 'No, we don't do ice here,'' she said. And that was that. Seven years later, the two have rarely left each other's sides. Over the years, they've been forced to navigate life in the United States as a mixed-status household. People who enter the US illegally, like by crossing the southern border, generally face additional barriers to obtaining citizenship — and there are often limitations to their ability to get it. Sasha and Julio consulted attorneys, but there didn't appear to be a path for him to obtain citizenship despite being married to a US citizen. Though they had previously discussed a future in Mexico when their kids were older, the new administration fast-tracked their plans. 'It's not even the risk of deportation … because it was a risk during Obama and it was a risk during Biden that he would be deported and honestly, at that point, we had already come to terms with that,' Sasha said. 'The fear is no longer being deported; the fear is being attacked while we're still here or our kids being pulled out of school or him not coming home from work. And then if he does get picked up, it's being taken to a detention center and us never knowing about it,' she added. 'There are no limits,' Julio said. They were confronted with their worst nightmare when Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who was residing in the US, was mistakenly deported to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador. While Julio and Abrego Garcia have different backgrounds, in appearance, they look similar — and Abrego Garcia's wife is also a US citizen. 'I can see myself in that, and I don't want us to wait until we're in the same situation,' Sasha said. But departing for Mexico without Sasha was a nonstarter for both her and Julio. 'Everything we do, we do together, and we always make the best out of it,' Julio said. This year, their wedding anniversary coincided with their goodbye party in Pittsburgh. A steady stream of friends and family flowed through Sasha's childhood home. Tears and laughter filled the space, as their children, along with their young cousins, zig-zagged through each room, chasing each other. The family's suitcases sat by the front door, a reminder of what was to come. Sasha and Julio are not alone. Other people considering making the jump to leave the United States — or who already have left — have emerged online, sharing their stories on TikTok. In short clips, they swap tips on how to set up life in a new country and recall what prompted them to depart. 'It was like, let me learn through your experience instead of waiting until it happens to me as well,' Sasha said, describing the TikTok community she found. 'I've gotten so much information from them like the smallest things, like how to set up internet in your house to what's the process to get residency.' The Trump administration has been running a self-deportation campaign — taking to the airwaves and launching a US Customs and Border Protection app to encourage people to voluntarily depart the country. They've also offered financial incentives. In May, the Department of Homeland Security conducted a charter flight carrying 64 individuals who chose to self-deport to their home countries of Honduras and Colombia. It's an effort that Trump often touts. 'A lot of self-deporting,' he said during a trip to Florida to visit a new immigrant detention center. Hours of research behind them, the Mendoza family departed the US on June 28 with a one-way ticket to Mexico City. It's a decision they didn't take lightly, but they saw it as the only choice. 'Rolling a dice will be staying here. That would be rolling a dice. Playing with my life, playing with my kids' life, play with my wife's life. That would be a gamble,' Julio said. 'I'm taking a certain win on this one for sure. Definitely a certain win in the sense of back to the roots, back to the family for once after 20-some years. And I get to bring my own family, my own history, my own dream, my own story.'
