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What self-deportation means for one family

The Trump administration has encouraged people in the U.S. without legal status to self-deport and go back to the country where they were born.

Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd speaks with Jenni and Fidel Rivera, who are experiencing self-deportation firsthand. They’ve been married for 17 years, and Jenni Rivera and their daughters are American citizens, but Fidel Rivera has been living in the country without legal status for nearly 30 years, until he recently went back to Mexico in October.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR

Here & Now Newsroom

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