Aiken County family fleeing to Mexico due to Trump immigration policies

AIKEN, S.C. (WJBF)- An Aiken County family is feeling the pressure from the Trump administration’s undocumented immigrant policies.

One of President Donald Trump’s main campaign promises in 2024 was sweeping immigration policies.

An Aiken County family says they have been living in fear of being split up since Trump took office in January.

“He came by himself at 12 years old. By himself, no family. He came and immediately started working for a restaurant here,” explained Tiffany Montalvo, the wife of an undocumented immigrant.

Tomas Montalvo has been undocumented and living in the U.S. for 30 years. He was smuggled into this country on a “coyote bus.”

One of 13 children, his parents sent him here to work and help support his family and that’s what he did.

“He said that when he first got here, it was easy. Now it’s not. It was– you know, he just went to work. He did what he was supposed to do, and he had no fear. Now he’s got fear,” said Tiffany.

During and since his bid for re-election, President Trump promised the largest mass deportation of undocumented immigrants in the nation’s history, something many Republicans pushed for.

Trump asked illegal immigrants to self deport, promising no repercussions, the ability to re enter the U.S. legally, and $1,000 to help the process.

The Montalvo family decided to go ahead and self deport because they are afraid of being separated.

“We started talking and we’re like ‘Okay, if these certain things start to happen, we’re going to think about leaving,'” Tiffany said. “And the things did start to happen, but we were like ‘It’ll never happen to us. It’ll never happen to us. It won’t.’ And then he had one brother deported, and then he had another brother deported.”

They told NewsChannel 6 that the process hasn’t been easy. They sold their car and almost everything in their house to buy the plane tickets. They have to re-home all of their pets.
And they are struggling to say goodbye to family members, many of whom voted for President Trump.

“I will say certain family members have said ‘Look, I want to make it known I didn’t vote for this.’ And then others, I feel like, don’t see the reality. They think that we’re making this up or that our feelings aren’t valid or that we’re just scared for no reason,” explained Tiffany.

The family will leave for Mexico within the next 12 weeks with about $200 to their name. They will live on a farm with no plumbing and dirt floors. But they say that as long as they are together, they can deal with anything.

“This was better for the greater good to save Tomas, even after everything we have to go through,” said 13-year-old Jaycob Cox, Tiffany’s son.

The family says Tomas attempted to change his immigration status several times, but couldn’t afford the cost. They were quoted between $5,000 and $120,000 to go through the process.

NewsChannel 6 gave the Montalvo family the option several times to remain anonymous for their protection, but they declined saying they want others in their situation to know they aren’t alone.

Photojournalist: Reggie Mckie.