'Immigration Nation': Did undocumented Marine Cesar Lopez get pardoned by New Mexico Governor Lujan Grisham?
Netflix's latest docuseries 'Immigration Nation' gives an eye-opening look into the workings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, their many controversial actions in the country during Donald Trump's tenure as the president, the families who have been separated at the border by ICE, and other victims of the tough, and often unfair immigration laws of the United States. One of the individuals we meet is Cesar Manuel Lopez, an undocumented veteran who was deported.
Lopez was four years old when he was brought to America by his parents. He grew up in LA. As soon as he finished high school, he joined the Marines, and served for two years, from 1993 to 1995. His transition to civilian life did not go as smoothly as it should have, which eventually led him towards the one criminal offense that would change his life. In 2000, Lopez was arrested for possession with intent to distribute over 20 pounds of marijuana found in his car in New Mexico. On the advice of his lawyer, he pleaded guilty, though he didn’t have to serve time. He received a one-year deferred sentence, paid a fine, and was told that the incident would not go on his record. However, it later turned out that this clause was for American citizens only, which he was not -- this led to Lopez being deported when he went to Costa Rica for a business trip and tried to return.
Three weeks after he had been deported, Lopez came back to America by crossing the desert, driven by the wish to reunite with his family and go back home. He settled in Las Vegas, Nevada, and took up the cause of demanding the pardon for deported veterans, many of whom he had met in Mexico, which is what made him realize that he was not alone.
Lopez's chance of changing his life came when Michelle Lujan Grisham caught the attention of the cause of veterans being deported. Grisham was elected the Governor of New Mexico in 2019 and so, Lopez went to see her to request a pardon. If Grisham would pardon his offense, Cesar would finally have a chance to become a permanent citizen of America and stop running, and therefore start a family with his partner. Unfortunately, after a risky long drive to meet Grisham, Lopez was told to wait, which resulted in the breakdown we see in the series as the latter pled with tears that one signature could change his life.
Filming for the series wrapped up in February 2020, so we don't see what comes next. Thankfully, there is some good news here. In June 2020, Lopez, who was convicted of felony drug charges for possessing marijuana, was pardoned.
'Immigration Nation' is now streaming on Netflix.
