Deportation Trap

Marlon Urrutia Diaz traveled thousands of miles with his wife and small children, crossing treacherous terrain and paying a cartel’s ransom to get from Honduras to the U.S. When he crossed the border early last year at Calexico, California, and turned himself in, border agents learned why he’d come so far under such dangerous conditions: Members of the ruthless MS-13 gang had threatened his life, he said. He was briefly detained, then released, eventually finding work in Memphis as a maintenance technician at an apartment complex as his plea for asylum worked its way through the U.S. justice system. But Urrutia Diaz, 34, who has no criminal record, saw his fortunes suddenly sour last winter when he was re-arrested during a routine immigration check-in. Authorities contend he failed to comply with conditions of his supervised release — allegations he denies.

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