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Goleta Grandmother Juana Flores Joins Rep. Carbajal on Capitol Hill to Promote Protect Patriot Parents Act

Newly Bipartisan Bill Would Protect Military Parents Like Flores from Deportation by Granting Eligibility for Lawful Permanent Status

Pictured from left, Juana Flores’s husband, Andres; her daughter Cristina; her granddaughter Andrea; Juana Flores; Rep. Salud Carbajal; Rep. Darren Soto; and the family that inspired Rep. Soto’s Protect Patriot Spouses Act, Estela Juarez and her mother Alejandra Juarez, gather at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus event July 18 on Capitol Hill highlighting Rep. Carbajal’s Protect Patriot Parents Act. | Credit: Courtesy Rep. Salud Carbajal

Four years ago, “Goleta’s Grandmother” Juana Flores was abruptly deported under the direction of the Trump administration, separated from the life and family she had worked tirelessly to build over a period of more than 30 years. She returned in 2021 under temporary humanitarian parole, but her story continues, as she and her many supporters push for permanent residency.

On Tuesday, Flores found herself at the base of Capitol Hill with her granddaughter Andrea. With the Capitol Building on view in the background, she spoke in support of preventing further deportations and separations of military families such as hers.

Juana Flores and granddaughter Andrea spoke at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus event on July 18 highlighting Rep. Carbajal’s Protect Patriot Parents Act. Pictured back row (from right): Rep. Darren Soto, inspiration for Soto’s Protect Patriot Spouses Act Alejandra Juarez, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, Alejandra’s daughter Estela Juarez, and Reps. Lou Correa, Jesús “Chuy” García, Salud Carbajal, and Teresa Leger Fernández. | Credit: Courtesy Rep. Salud Carbajal

The two joined congressmembers Salud Carbajal, a California Democrat, and María Salazar, a Florida Republican, for the first bipartisan introduction of the Protect Patriot Parents Act, which would give military parents eligibility to apply for lawful permanent status.