It has been an emotional start to the new year for Rocio Rebollar Gomez and her family.
On Thursday, after 31 years in the United States, a country where she had built a life and raised three children, including a son now in the United States Army, Ms. Gomez was deported to Tijuana, Mexico, where she had little family left.
That son, Second Lt. Gibram Cruz, 30, who has been in the Army for five years and rushed to be with her the day after Christmas, said he was “shocked” at the way his mother was treated and called the actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement “completely inhumane.”
Ms. Gomez, 51, was previously scheduled to self deport and that plan was known to ICE, the family’s lawyer, Tessa Cabrera, said on Friday.
Instead, as the family went to an ICE office to discuss her case, Ms. Gomez was taken across the border to Tijuana without a chance to say goodbye, Ms. Cabrera said.
Officials “snuck her out through the back” and in less than 30 minutes she was in Mexico, Lieutenant Cruz said.
In the months leading up to her deportation, Ms. Gomez, who, according to her family, ran a small business selling health and natural products and drove for Uber, had attempted to stay in the United States legally, including deferred action under the discretionary option for military families through Citizen and Immigration Services, Ms. Cabrera said.
The family also worked to bring attention to the case by conducting interviews with the news media. They held a news conference on Thursday and made signs showing support for Ms. Gomez the night before.
“Our hope was that our eyes wouldn’t be the only ones witnessing this,” Ms. Cabrera said of the attention. “I think Rocio held onto hope and faith until the very last moment.”
Ms. Gomez was removed from the country in 1995, 2005 and 2009, Ms. Cabrera said.
Mary G. Houtmann, a spokeswoman for ICE, said on Friday that Ms. Gomez’s 2009 removal was the result of a 2008 order by an immigration judge and that she illegally re-entered the country after that.
In March 2018, Ms. Gomez was apprehended by ICE, Ms. Houtmann said, and was processed to be removed again but was granted a stay by Enforcement and Removal Operations officers while her appeals and requests to remain in the United States were being reviewed.
Lieutenant Cruz, who is based in Texas and works in military intelligence, acknowledged that his mother had illegally entered the country but called her removal “completely unnecessary.”
“Her as a responsible mother did what any mother in her situation would do and came back to care for her children by any means,” he said. “A country that was founded on immigrants should be welcoming to my mother, who her whole life has been an outstanding citizen.”
Ms. Gomez also has two daughters, ages 34 and 23.
Families sacrifice a lot when members of the military serve their country, Lieutenant Cruz said.
“We never asked for any handouts,” he said. “We have always provided and succeeded by ourselves. We simply asked ICE to exercise some discretion and let her continue being a contributing member of her society.”
Ms. Houtmann said Ms. Gomez was informed last month that all avenues for her to remain in the country had been exhausted and she was given until Jan. 2 to depart.
Karla McKissick, one of Ms. Gomez’s daughters, expressed concerns about her mother’s future in Mexico. Her mother’s brother, while living in Acapulco, Mexico, was abducted and held for ransom, she said. The family presumes he is dead and have never found his body.
Ms. Gomez is staying with her half sister, someone she has not seen in at least 10 years, Ms. McKissick said.
“Her sister has a tiny house and she’s going to be staying on the couch,” she said. “We’re helping her financially to do the most that we can.”
Shortly after Ms. Gomez’s removal to Tijuana, Ms. McKissick crossed the border to bring her supplies.
“According to our attorney, we’re out of options,” she said. The family also hopes that a change in administration or a change in laws might help their mother’s case. “But as of right now, all we can do is hold our breath,” she said.