The law firm declined to be interviewed for this story. “They did it very privately,” said Fierro. “You don’t want to go public,” at least not in the US
So he was late in responding to the call. The company told Fierro about something he had never heard of: humanitarian probation.
According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Humanitarian Parole is used to bring someone who is temporarily banned into the United States due to an emergency.”
Despite Fierro’s first-hand knowledge and after reading extensively about immigration law while in custody, it still took immigration lawyers to bring people like Fierro back into the country and do so legally – a sign of that how incredibly complex and confusing America’s immigration policies are.
Fierro’s strong community ties, lack of criminal history, and status as a well-known local figure made him a prime candidate for humanitarian parole. The pandemic served as an “emergency” especially as his mother suffered from COVID-19, was hospitalized and survived but continues to have health issues that Fierro can help with as he speaks the best English of his family.
The law firm got Fierro an appointment at the border.
He showed up at Border Patrol Station between Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros, Mexico, documents in hand, clothes and a backpack – in certain parts of Mexico, especially in border towns, it’s important to be wealthy for fear of never traveling with luggage look like and thus become the target of kidnappers.
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