Father and daughter visit through the US-Mexico border fence after the elder self-deports

They hold hands through steel poles at the US-Mexico border, "Te quiero mucho mija," Francisco Duarte Tineo says, tearfully telling his daughter that he loves her.

Aracely Duarte Perez is a US citizen and recently came to Imperial Beach, where San Diego meets Playas de Tijuana, for a brief, emotional moment with her father.

It wasn't always like this. Aracely is an engineering student in San Diego, but she had been enrolled in school in Los Angeles until both her parents made the decision to self-deport.

To stay close, Aracely left her life in Los Angeles behind.

"They won't be able to see any of my milestones, my college graduation, maybe even like my wedding definitely makes it more difficult to grasp," she said.

Her parents are both undocumented immigrants who spent decades in San Diego, working as paleteros, selling ice cream, building a life and raising a family.

"They've actually lived here (in the US) for like more than 30 years," Aracely said.

Francisco said that, truthfully, he does not miss the US because in Mexico, he is free. He said he does miss his children.

"A road toward residence, a road toward citizenship, if anything, is incredibly difficult, if not impossible. And even when they're going to their court proceedings, there's still the fear of deportation. Not only fear, reality," Aracely said.

Having the opportunity to have stability, she said it made more sense for her parents to start over in Mexico. They are trying to rebuild what was left behind as they launch a restaurant in Tijuana.

"A seafood and cahuamanta restaurant that's Sonora style," Aracely said.

For families like Aracely's, self-deportation isn't just a legal decision; it's an emotional one. It reshapes daily life, relationships and the meaning of home.

"It hurts. Knowing we're so close yet so far away," Aracely said, adding that she still feels 100 percent connected to her father.

"Estos muros no nos van a detener hija," Francisco tells his daughter that the walls will not stop them, and that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.