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A family reunited: Phoenix father misses daughter's birth while in ICE custody

After the reunion, Misael Trujillo must start the process of finding a way to stay in the country to be with his family.

PHOENIX — A family is reunited after a father missed the birth of his first child while he was in ICE custody. 

Two weeks later, Misael Trujillo was able to bond out and see his daughter for the first time. 

“When I saw her for the first time, I just started crying,” Trujillo said. “Happy, still in shock, like I can’t believe it.”

The family reunion was weeks in the making. 

Justine Dachel is an American citizen. She said her husband has lived in the United States for more than 20 years.                                                        

The two met when Trujillo started working for the bakery Justine owned. The two now co-own the bakery.

Misael Trujillo is a DACA recipient. In June, he was supposed to serve a one-day jail sentence for driving under the influence of marijuana back in 2018.      

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The family does not believe the arrest was valid.

Originally, the plan was for Trujillo to serve his one day in a California jail in order to avoid ICE potentially taking him into custody. However, the pandemic made Trujillo serve his time in Arizona. As soon as his day in jail ended, ICE took him into custody. 

“My stomach just dropped, it just dropped, you cannot describe how you feel when the worst possible thing happens,“ Dachel said in an early July interview. 

“And like I feel useless because I couldn’t do anything. You know I feel like I was just waiting there,” Trujillo said. "I wasn’t going to be there to help her, I wasn’t going to be there to give her my emotional support.”

On July 5th, the couple's baby daughter was born, with Trujillo still in ICE custody. It would take two more weeks before he was able to see his daughter again. 

"I don’t take anything for granted, not even a single minute with her," Trujillo said.

While the family is now together, they must work to keep it that way. Trujillo is set to lose his DACA status at the end of this year, according to his wife. 

Justine hopes a family petition, can provide a route for him to be able to stay. Attorneys say there are no guarantees and the process could take some time.

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