Teas Border Business
Texas Border Business
SAN BENITO, TEXAS – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez has formally intervened in the pending deportation case of Juana Melendez, a long-time South Texas resident, business owner, and mother of two active-duty U.S. military service members. In a letter dated August 6, 2025, addressed to Juan Agudelo, Field Office Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Harlingen, Texas, the congressman urged the agency to grant Ms. Melendez additional time to submit a new application for Military Parole-in-Place (PIP).
According to the letter, Ms. Melendez filed an I-131 Application for Parole Documents for Military PIP in November 2024. The application was denied in June 2025. Following the denial, she was given 33 days to submit Form I-290B, a Notice of Appeal or Motion, or face voluntary removal. With assistance from her immigration attorney, Ms. Melendez filed the appeal, which is now awaiting a decision from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Congressman Gonzalez called for ICE to consider the full context of Ms. Melendez’s case. “Ms. Melendez and her family are respectfully requesting additional time to submit a new application for consideration,” he wrote. In a public statement, he added, “We cannot deport families of American heroes that pay taxes and contribute positively to our community. Her children are dutifully serving our country, her small business is providing growth and opportunities for our community, how can anyone truly justify this?”
Ms. Melendez is a single mother who has lived in the U.S. for over 25 years. She operates a landscaping business that she established in 2012, has consistently paid taxes, and is not considered a public safety risk. Her family includes a daughter currently in her seventh year of service in the U.S. military and a 21-year-old son serving overseas in the U.S. Navy. The daughter is presently on leave and preparing for another deployment. Ms. Melendez is also the sole caregiver to her four-year-old U.S. citizen daughter.
“She has raised a respectable, educated, and humble family that is currently giving back to our country,” Gonzalez noted in his letter. “We should not be tearing families apart or sending U.S. citizen children to another country.”
Ms. Melendez’s case falls under Military Parole-in-Place, a discretionary program designed to protect certain undocumented family members of U.S. service members from removal proceedings. Congressman Gonzalez’s request is intended to ensure she has the opportunity to pursue this relief fully and fairly.
USCIS has yet issued no decision regarding her appeal. Congressman Gonzalez emphasized his hope for a compassionate resolution, stating, “This is not just a legal issue. It’s a moral one.”
For questions regarding the case, the congressman directed ICE to contact his Brownsville office.
Read the full letter below:
