'Going to the best Christmas ever': Maine woman to reunite with husband deported in 2017
A Maine woman whose husband was deported to Guatemala more than four years ago will reunite with him this weekend.
“He’s just so excited. He’s adorable. He’s like, 'I’m coming home.' That’s all he can say. He just can’t believe it either,” said Sandra Merlim, of Brunswick.
Merlim said she and her husband, Otto Morales Caballeros, have been together for more than a decade.
Caballeros was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while on his way to work in 2017.
A federal judge ordered that he be deported to Guatemala for using fraudulent documents in relation to a felony conviction in 2013.
“We weren’t allowed to say goodbye. We weren’t allowed to do anything before they took him,” Merlim said.
Since his deportation, Merlim has flown 3,500 miles to see him.
“I was on a plane within two weeks. He couldn’t believe that I actually showed up. He really just thought that this was going to be it, and it was going to be over,” Merlim said.
Merlim said about a year ago she then started to have health problems, including needing to have open heart surgery after experiencing chest pains.
“That was pretty scary. My husband didn’t think I was going to make it through the operation. He could not compose himself. He was so upset that he couldn’t be here,” Merlim said.
Because of her health problems, an immigration lawyer worked to expedite her husband's case. Merlim said Citizenship and Immigration Services approved his return to Maine.
“Going to the best Christmas ever. Going to be the best Christmas that we’ve had in five years,” Merlim said. “When he gets here it’s going to be like he never left,” Merlim said.
Caballeros is scheduled to arrive at the Portland Jetport Saturday afternoon.