Immigrant families reunited after decades apart through international nonprofit

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - It was an indescribable eagerness at San Jose Mineta International airport’s international arrivals, where passengers on Volaris Flight 7800 were deplaning on Thursday. The passengers were coming from Morelia, Mexico, carrying big hearts with their luggage.

25 people flew in to reunite with their families who migrated to the US many years ago. They were traveling through a program called Palomas Mensajeras, which translates to "carrier pigeons."

The program is through a non-profit organization, International Convention on Human Rights and Migration, which works with government officials to reunite immigrant families.

Juan Pablo Zetina, the founder and president of the organization, was also on board, assisting the people from Michoacan to San Jose. 

"30 years that they haven’t seen their brother, 30 years that they haven’t seen their son," he said, in Spanish. "Today is a party for us!"

Zetina said while the flight lasted three hours, for them, it felt like 15 minutes because it’s been a lifetime since they saw their loved ones, missing birthdays, holidays, and important life events.

A couple of families met their loved ones at the airport, but the big reunion celebration was held 20 minutes away at Redwood City’s Fox Theater. 

After Zetina’s staff met the passengers, they boarded a van for Redwood City.

At the Fox Theater, their family members waited in the audience, eagerly anticipating their reunion with flowers and balloons, ready for that first embrace.

The van pulled the travelers backstage, and program organizers began listing families in the crowd. 

Each family was called one by one, given a moment to hug and kiss. 

Maria Teresa de Jesus was meeting her grandchildren for the first time, and hugging her adult kids for the first time in decades. She said it was more than 20 years since she saw her son.

Her daughter, Emma Vialos, said seeing her mother again for the first time in 14 years is unexplainable.

After each tearful exchange, they can’t let each other go.

Maria Guadalupe Garcia Orozco said she went 30 years without seeing her son, Ricardo Hernandez Garcia. He was a teenager when he left his hometown in Mexico. 

Now, he’s introducing his mother to her 19-year-old grandchild, and he said the moment made his heart swell.

"Unfortunately, borders are supposed to unite countries, but in this case, it’s a big separation," said Arnoldo Arreola with the Latino Community Council of Redwood City. 

Arreola said he secured the Fox Theater for the reunion. "This is my fourth time and it doesn’t matter, it’s emotional."

The process that leads up to this moment can take about two years.

Zetina said the goal is to bring them in legally, by helping them get visas.

He said when the people respect the law, they are able to freely travel to the US with a visa that lasts 10 years.

It also helps "Palomas Mensajeras" continue to operate when the rules are followed.

The families were granted one month together before they would be required to report back to the airport and return to Mexico. 

To qualify for the program, participants in Mexico must be a minimum of 58 years old, have no negative record with Immigration, and a copy of their passport.

International Convention on Human Rights and Migration is hoping to expand their Palomas Mensajeras program to include other parts of Central America and organizers are already in talks with politicians and officials in El Salvador.

To get more information about the program, you can call Jorge Garcia at 415-424-9223.