Hi r/pics, this is Jake from The Guardian US. We wanted to share a photo from this story that we published over the weekend about Mark, a 17 year-old who struggled to make it through his senior year after his dad was deported to El Salvador. Getting his diploma was bittersweet for the Maryland teen – as his dad watched on a livestream abroad.
From our story by Maanvi Singh:
As Mark was getting ready for his high school graduation, he thought about how his dad would have probably insisted on adjusting his slacks – they were a bit tight – and fixed up his tie. “He would want me to look my best,” he said.
But his dad and namesake, Marco, was 2,000 miles away. He had been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Maryland just before Christmas and deported to El Salvador in March.
When Mark walked up to the podium and got his diploma last week, he felt a sense of relief – like he had walked out of a nightmare. His mother, Rosie, told him afterwards: “Congratulations – we finally made it though.”
Mark used to love school – he took advanced placement classes, and he had a girlfriend and a tight-knit group of friends that his mom calls “wholesome”. But everything began to unravel after Marco was arrested, and then deported. “For a lot of this semester, I just didn’t want to go to school,” he said. “Even after I came to terms with what happened to my dad, I never, never ever wanted to be there.”
It didn’t matter to the immigration system that Marco had lived in the US for nearly 40 years, that he owned a contracting business in Maryland, that he had a 17-year-old son and 35-year-old daughter who are both US citizens.
It didn’t seem to matter, Mark said, that Marco’s biggest dream had been to see his son graduate.
Mark is one of tens of thousands of US citizen children separated from their parents by the US immigration system. A Guardian investigation found that during the first seven months of Donald Trump’s presidency, his administration arrested the parents of at least 27,000 children – including 12,000 US citizen children. During that period, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was deporting about twice as many parents each month compared with 2024.
3rd and 4th generation Americans know this story, but this is the nightmare version. The side of my family where I am 3rd generation American came here with nothing at a time when all you had to do was walk in through Ellis Island and sign your name in a book. Citizenship was the price of a boat ticket and whatever you were leaving behind. Seeing their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren make American milestones like high school graduation was the capstone of a life's work. My Great Aunt (1st gen) nearly collapsed from tears while holding my diploma and Eagle Scout award, saying to my Grandpa "Our father would be so proud and happy to see how far the family has come."
If this photo is what America prefers, America has sold its soul for an insultingly small amount of silver.
![image showing [OC] Mark, 17, whose dad was deported last year, poses at his high school graduation with his mom](7bc5a9e7-4fcd-5de6-aefe-fea6dd2e602d.jpg)
guardian on June 8th, 2026 at 14:43 UTC »
Photo by Hailey Sadler/The Guardian in Maryland
Hi r/pics, this is Jake from The Guardian US. We wanted to share a photo from this story that we published over the weekend about Mark, a 17 year-old who struggled to make it through his senior year after his dad was deported to El Salvador. Getting his diploma was bittersweet for the Maryland teen – as his dad watched on a livestream abroad.
From our story by Maanvi Singh:
As Mark was getting ready for his high school graduation, he thought about how his dad would have probably insisted on adjusting his slacks – they were a bit tight – and fixed up his tie. “He would want me to look my best,” he said.
But his dad and namesake, Marco, was 2,000 miles away. He had been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Maryland just before Christmas and deported to El Salvador in March.
When Mark walked up to the podium and got his diploma last week, he felt a sense of relief – like he had walked out of a nightmare. His mother, Rosie, told him afterwards: “Congratulations – we finally made it though.”
Mark used to love school – he took advanced placement classes, and he had a girlfriend and a tight-knit group of friends that his mom calls “wholesome”. But everything began to unravel after Marco was arrested, and then deported. “For a lot of this semester, I just didn’t want to go to school,” he said. “Even after I came to terms with what happened to my dad, I never, never ever wanted to be there.”
It didn’t matter to the immigration system that Marco had lived in the US for nearly 40 years, that he owned a contracting business in Maryland, that he had a 17-year-old son and 35-year-old daughter who are both US citizens.
It didn’t seem to matter, Mark said, that Marco’s biggest dream had been to see his son graduate.
Mark is one of tens of thousands of US citizen children separated from their parents by the US immigration system. A Guardian investigation found that during the first seven months of Donald Trump’s presidency, his administration arrested the parents of at least 27,000 children – including 12,000 US citizen children. During that period, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was deporting about twice as many parents each month compared with 2024.
You can read the full story for free at this link.
Bigweld_Ind on June 8th, 2026 at 14:59 UTC »
3rd and 4th generation Americans know this story, but this is the nightmare version. The side of my family where I am 3rd generation American came here with nothing at a time when all you had to do was walk in through Ellis Island and sign your name in a book. Citizenship was the price of a boat ticket and whatever you were leaving behind. Seeing their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren make American milestones like high school graduation was the capstone of a life's work. My Great Aunt (1st gen) nearly collapsed from tears while holding my diploma and Eagle Scout award, saying to my Grandpa "Our father would be so proud and happy to see how far the family has come."
If this photo is what America prefers, America has sold its soul for an insultingly small amount of silver.
pm_me_your_trebuchet on June 8th, 2026 at 18:15 UTC »
Trump is a fat dirty cunt. Anyone who supported this is an ugly dirty cunt as well.