Family navigating life after Livermore man was 'wrongfully deported'

LIVERMORE, Calif. - Update: A senior Department of Homeland Security official got back to KTVU on August 25 about this story. They said Miguel Angel-Lopez Luvian was deported by ICE on June 6, 2025, after nearly 29 years of appeals and delays. They said Lopez Luvian had a final order of removal from an immigration judge since 1996 and that he has a conviction for driving under the influence. 

A Livermore woman said she is lonely and struggling with her mental health due to the forced separation from her husband, who was deported in early June.

Rosa Lopez said her husband of 24 years,  Miguel Angel Lopez Luvian, was deported after being detained by ICE officers in San Francisco during a routine immigration check in. 

Life after deportation

What they're saying:

Now, three months later, the woman is left to fend for herself and her family while her husband is in Mexico City.

Rosa Lopez said she is fighting to bring him back and believes he was wrongfully deported.

Miguel Lopez was detained in the Central Valley for 10 days after his detention on May 27, and then sent back to his home country of Mexico on June 7.

Rosa Lopez said she has flown down to Mexico twice to visit him since then, but it’s become increasingly difficult to afford flights, since her husband was the provider for the family.

She described her time with him in Mexico City as bittersweet.

"It was nice, but it was hard because I had to leave my kids behind. It's hard having to have a split family when you were always together," she said, with tears in her eyes.

Miguel Lopez's attorney said he was granted a green card, but the Department of Homeland Security appealed the decision, even though he hadn’t committed any crimes since entering the U.S. with his parents as a teenager 30 years ago.

Rosa Lopez, who was born in the U.S., said her husband has been working on his legal status for years.

He had been granted a green card, but it was revoked, according to his attorney.

"Getting status here in the United States is not as easy as filling out an application, like getting a job. It's not. It's all a process," she said. "We’ve spent a lot of money on this."

The couple, who met as teenagers, have been married since 2001, and have three children, ages 25, 24, and 17.

Miguel Lopez made money for the family as a welder.

They also have a 3-year-old granddaughter, who now only sees him from behind a screen. 

"Her papa was here and then all of a sudden he's gone," said Rosa Lopez.

The woman says life without him hasn’t been easy.

"He tells me, 'You've got to promise me you are not going to cry anymore,' but it's impossible," she said.

Rosa Lopez said she has been fighting for his return with support from the community, which rallied alongside her in downtown Livermore after he was taken and helped her family raise nearly $60,000 to cover legal expenses.

'We won't give up'

What's next:

She has also received support from Congressman Eric Swalwell, who met with her last week and helped Miguel Lopez get his passport back from ICE, the family said.

"We're hoping this really works for him to get his green card back," the woman said.

After taking it to the Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case, and filing appeals which were unsuccessful, Miguel Lopez's case currently sits in the U.S. District Court.

His attorney, Saad Admad, is trying to get the man due process.

"We believe there would be a gross miscarriage of justice if Mr. Lopez's green card is taken away without him getting the opportunity to seek review of that decision," Ahmad said. "We have a long battle ahead of us. It's going to be a difficult case, no question about it." 

Rosa Lopez said she hopes to visit her husband again in September and hopefully bring more family members along.

The next court hearing is in October.

KTVU reached out to DHS, but did not immediately hear back.

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