‘It’s terrifying’: Family says man can’t be found after being deported to the wrong country

KINGMAN, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) — A Kingman family says their loved one has been deported to a country they have no connection with, and now he cannot be found.

The northwestern Arizona family is now searching for answers after what they describe as a devastating mistake by immigration officials.

“He is my husband. I love him,” Jessica Cuellar Portillo said. “He’s my soulmate, and you can’t help who you fall in love with, no matter what country they’re from.”

Her husband, Miguel Cuellar Portillo, came to the United States illegally 19 years ago.

“We already knew it was going to happen because in 2012, we had a deportation order, and he never left. So we went in for an I-130 interview and they put him in handcuffs,” Jessica Cuellar Portillo said.

According to the man’s wife, he was going through the process of applying for citizenship when he was detained.

Miguel Cuellar Portillo was reportedly held at the immigration detention center in Florence for a week, up until Aug. 21.

“One day, I just called. I checked his number to make sure he was still there, and it disappeared,” Jessica Cuellar Portillo said.

She was told his deportation paperwork listed El Salvador, but instead, he was left somewhere in Mexico, and now she says she can’t find him.

“He’s not on any of those migrant planes, and I know there’s a process to re-enter El Salvador. To be put back into El Salvador, and he wasn’t even going through that process,” Jessica Cuellar Portillo said. “So it’s really frustrating to know that they actually put him in a country where he doesn’t belong.”

Miguel Cuellar Portillo’s wife says she’s called everyone she can think of, but no one can tell her where in Mexico he was taken.

“It’s terrifying. I’m not sleeping. I may sleep three hours a day because I’m trying to figure out what other ways I can try to find him, who else I can contact or call to find him,” she said.

Her fight now is to locate her husband and make sure he gets to the right country, the one he was supposed to be deported to all along.

“It’s a betrayal. To me, I feel like it’s a forced disappearance. They forced him to disappear,” Jessica Cuellar Portillo said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not responded to questions about why Miguel Cuellar Portillo was deported to Mexico instead of El Salvador, but the feds said the agency is looking into it.

For now, his wife and the Salvadoran consulate continue searching, hoping he is found safe.