A Texas grandmother who has lived in the United States for more than two decades faces a life-threatening situation if she is deported, her daughter has told Newsweek.
Margarita Avila, a landscaper, is currently in the custody of federal immigration authorities. She fled cartel violence from Belize in 2001 and may be forced to return to the same dangerous conditions she once escaped.
She was arrested on March 12 and charged with assault for allegedly attacking a postal worker with a weed-eater. Her family claims she acted in self-defense and was wrongfully charged.
The felony charge has impacted her immigration proceedings, leading to her detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Newsweek contacted ICE for further comment outside of office hours.
Her daughter, Lisbet Azucena Ávila, told Newsweek about the devastating consequences her mother could face if deported.
"She's running away from a cartel that was threatening her life back in 2001 when she first came. And then when she left [for Belize] in 2012, she had to come right back six months later because the threat was still there," she said in an interview.
Lisbet Avila fears that deportation would put her mother in immediate danger, adding that her mother is legally in the country and is currently seeking asylum.
"If she were to get deported, she would be going back to that situation. So we don't want to think about that because if my mom were to go back, that would be the last time that we see our mom."
Many immigrants flee from Latin America to escape from cartel violence. The arrest comes amid a crackdown on immigration by President Donald Trump's administration, which has made enforcement operations a top priority.
Trump has vowed to conduct large-scale deportations, as the administration looks to remove millions of undocumented immigrants and ramp up ICE detentions across the country.
Margarita Avila's detention has taken an emotional toll on her family, especially her two youngest sons.
"Everybody is angry. I know my dad is super sad. I know my little brothers are the ones that are filling in more," her daughter said.
What Happened to Margarita Avila?
Lisbet Avila said her mother was working at a new customer's home, trimming grass with a weed-eater when the altercation began at the 23600 block of Willow Haven Dr. in Spring, Texas.
"They did say that the postal van was there, but nobody was outside of the van. So they decided they were going to go ahead and, you know, just do the lawn, finish it very quickly."
"She never heard the lady come up to her from behind. She was cutting, and next thing you know, she just felt something hit her face."
Lisbet Avila said a video of the incident shows her mother backing away, startled, while the postal worker grabbed her equipment.
"My mom was like, 'I don't want to deal with it. I don't want to have any more issues.' But the girl turned around and called the cops and told the cops that my mom attacked her from behind. She lied about what happened."
"Jackie, my sister-in-law, works with her. She started yelling for help, calling out to my sister-in-law. As soon as Jackie saw what was happening, she started recording."
Police claim that Margarita Avila was trimming grass near a cluster mailbox when a postal worker requested that she step back due to debris blowing onto her while delivering mail. After being asked a second time and tapped on the shoulder, Margarita allegedly attacked the postal worker with the weed-eater, according to authorities
"Margarita Avila was arrested and booked into the Harris County Jail, charged with Assault-Bodily Injury. Her bond was set at $100.00 out of County Court 3," Harris County Constable Mark Herman said.
The family claims Margarita Avila's side of the story was never recorded by police.
Newsweek has contacted the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office for comment.
Margarita Avila originally left Belize in 2001, but voluntarily returned in 2012 after discovering she had a deportation order. She did not inform federal immigration authorities that she had self-deported in 2012.
After she returned to Belize, she found out that the threat from the cartel remained and she came back to the U.S. and sought asylum.
"She turned herself in to immigration, they let her in and they said, 'OK, you don't pose a threat to us. And as long as you don't get into any type of trouble, you don't have to worry about it,'" Lisbet Avila said.
The felony charge, however, is now considered a violation of her parole with immigration, leading to her detention.
Lisbet Avila, a DACA recipient, said her father and two younger brothers—aged 11 and 13—were struggling with their mother's absence.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, often referred to as Dreamers, are individuals who were brought to the United States unlawfully as children. The program shields them from ICE detention and deportation, but these protections can be revoked by immigration authorities.
Due to visitation limits, Lisbet has allowed her father and younger brothers to visit Margarita Avila in detention. "We've been letting my dad and my little brothers take those visits because they are the ones most affected by the whole situation," she said. "They're used to being around my mom 24/7."
Lisbet Avila recounted how emotional the visits have been, especially for her father.
"My dad was trying to make jokes and say, we didn't cry. Everything was fine. Your mom was so happy to see us. My little brother got on the phone and he was like, 'Don't listen to him.'
'As soon as we walked out the door, dad broke down,'" she said.
"It's just very emotional to see that they're seeing their mom on TV and all this, and they're saying horrible things about her. They go online and they see horrible things about her too.
Lisbet Avila said her mother is a hardworking matriarch of the family and not a criminal.
She also criticized how her mother has been portrayed in the media and urged people to watch footage from the altercation.
"It's just very unfair that the news stations and everybody that picked up the story initially made my mom out to be just a bad person," she said.
"I don't even want people to believe my words. I feel like the video is there, and it can be looked at. The evidence is there of what really happened."
"We're trying to clarify things because now that we've got this video, we can prove that my mom was simply just doing her job and she didn't attack anybody."
While Margarita Avila remains in ICE detention, her family continues to fight for her release, fearing that deportation could mean the end of her life.
In a direct message to Trump, Lisbet Avila appealed for a pathway to citizenship for non-violent immigrants who are following the American dream.
"All I would ask of him is to have a little compassion and a little humanity for the people that are here and trying to do it the right way."
fairness meter
About the writer
Billal Rahman is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. He specializes in immigration policy and border security. He has ... Read more