Northwest suburban mother shares trauma her family suffers after husband arrested by feds
The following story features Spanish and English translations.
Families impacted by "Operation Midway Blitz" last year continue to face uncertainty after loved ones were taken into custody by federal agents.
One family in the northwest suburbs shared the trauma they said they're suffering after a husband and father was arrested by federal agents.
"Me siento triste porque ella anhela ver a su papá", said Jasbleidys Hernandez.
("I feel sad because she wishes to see her dad.")
As she picks her six-year-old daughter, Victoria, up from school, Hernandez asks Victoria where she would like to visit.
Hernandez: "¿Qué estado quieres conocer?" ("What state do you want to visit?")
Victoria: "Um…Michigan."
Hernandez: ¿Michigan por qué Michigan? ("Michigan? Why Michigan?")
Victoria: Porque si… ("Because…")
Hernandez: ¿Quién está en Michigan? ("Who's in Michigan?")
Victoria: "Ahi es donde esta mi papi." ("that's where my dad is.")
"Aun sin saber donde esta ella siempre pide por el," Hernandez later said.
("Without knowing where he is, she always prays for him.")
Jasbleidys Hernandez and her husband, Omar Bautista Carvajal, are originally from Colombia. They have three children. Their youngest is Victoria.
"El daño que hacen a una familia, ah, no solamente el hecho de que mi esposo se hubiera ido. Es el hecho de que tienes miedo. Ellos estan aqui," she said.
("The damage that they do to a family … it's not only that they took him. It's the fact that we're scared. They're here.")
Two weeks before her husband was detained, they took a cellphone video of agents in their neighborhood and described the feeling of spotting them:
"Hay que escondernos, cerremos la puerta, cerremos las ventanas. O no puedo llevar la niña a la escuela, no puedo ir a un parque, no puedo ir a comprar comida porque tengo miedo," she said.
("Let's hide. Let's close the doors. Let's close the windows. And I can't take my daughter to school. I can't go to the park. I can't go grocery shopping because I'm scared.")
Then on Oct. 4, Bautista Carvajal was driving to his weekly Saturday English class in Carol Stream when he was arrested by federal agents.
"Y él me llama y me dice: "Óyeme, lo siento". "¿Cómo que lo sientes?" Me dice: "Sí, te fallé". "¿Cómo que me fallaste? Me dice: "Me agarraron," she said.
("He calls me and says I'm sorry. What do you mean you're sorry? He tells me, I failed you. What do you mean you failed me? He says, they got me.")
The family shared his valid work permit, which he had since 2023.
"Eso no era suficiente. Caí al piso llorando porque no sabía qué hacer. Estaba desesperada," she said. "Me fui a la habitación de ellos, que estaban durmiendo. Le dije: "Muchachos, se llevaron a su papá. Se llevaron a Omar," she said.
("But that wasn't enough. I fell to the ground crying because I didn't know what to do. I was desperate. I went to the room, they were sleeping. And I said, boys, they took your dad. They took Omar.")
Hernandez added that she's now doing the work of two people, with one income.
"Hago por dos. No hay ingresos por dos, económicos, pero sí hay trabajo para dos. Toda esta carga es mía ahora," Hernandez said.
("I'm doing the work of two people. There's no income for two, but there's work for two. This weight is all mine now.")
That weight and responsibilities have also fallen on Ian, 11, and Juan, 18.
"It's difficult, like ... I think he's a big piece here at home," Juan said.
The family said that the fear of encountering agents makes it harder for them get around and complete basic chores like laundry and buying groceries.
"Cause we're always afraid of, like, ICE getting us," Ian added.
"Piensan que nosotros somos criminales. Y no somos criminales. Somos una familia, ah, muy unida, que no vino a hacerle daño a nadie aquí," Hernandez said.
("They think we're criminals. We're not criminals. We're a united family that didn't come to do any harm to anyone.")
In Bautista Carvajal's absence, they try to keep things as normal as possible, even if that means their youngest child doesn't know the truth of where he is and why.
Franza: "¿Es muy difícil hablar con Victoria sobre su padre?" ("Is it hard to talk to Victoria about her dad?")
Hernandez: Victoria siempre está pregunta por su papa. Le hemos dicho que se fue a trabajar a otro estado. ("Victoria is always asking for her dad. We've told her he's working in another state.")
She believes he's in Michigan, building houses at his new job, though her dad is actually detained at an ICE facility in the state.
Victoria later showed us a card she made for her dad in hopes that he would return home to her.
"I just put some pictures in it," she said. "Um, dad and me. And there I gave him some flowers."
"Literally, I want my dad to come back soon," she said.
Adding, "I miss him a lot."
"Yo tengo la fe de que mi esposo va a volver. Lo he visto en muchas personas que han vuelto después de muchos meses detenidas. ¿Por qué no él? Si él se lo merece. Él se merece estar acá", Herandez said.
("I have faith my husband will return. I've seen it in other people who have returned after many months of detention. Why not him? He deserves it. He deserves to be here.")
Hernandez told CBS Chicago that she feels strongly about not telling Victoria, despite the story airing on television. However, she feels it's incredibly important that she and her children share their experience publicly.
Bautista Carvajal's was one of more than 600 people listed in a federal lawsuit alleging he should never have been detained in the first place.
The Department of Homeland Security admitted that he is a low safety risk as part of that lawsuit.
His immigration case is still pending.