Carrizalez family bids farewell to Butler, unsure if they will return
When 7-year-old Dani got off the bus from school Tuesday, Oct. 2, she had a smile on her face. She got a new book from school. She wore purple, matching with her two close friends. She greeted her cat and dog.
Oblivious to the world, as any 7-year-old should be.
She’s unaware that when her family leaves their Butler home for Mexico this weekend, they don’t know when — or if — they’ll be coming back. Dani danced around the house and hugged her parents, whose faces showed the exhaustion of a monthslong fight to reunite and stay home.
“I don’t think she understands the weight of it, how long we could be over there,” said Dani’s mother, Amanda Smail-Carrizalez.
She said her daughter thinks, “I can’t wait to go to Mexico and come back and tell Ruby (her best friend) all about it on the weekend.”
Struggling to speak as she choked up, Amanda told her, “We’re not coming back on the weekend, baby. It’s not like that.”
When Dani’s father, Ignacio Carrizalez, a native of Mexico, was detained by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement in April — reportedly ripped out of his work van in Evans City by masked agents — and held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center for over two months, he was working to gain his citizenship.
Ignacio spent years in America undocumented, but he has had documentation for a decade now. In addition to navigating a complex, often inefficient immigration system, the COVID-19 pandemic backed up the process by years. The system is also a process filled with roadblocks and can allow vulnerable immigrants to be taken advantage of.
By 2026, he had piles of forms including international background checks, previous fingerprints and I-130 and I-797 forms with approvals from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The family had a permanent residency hearing scheduled for June 1.
He never made it to the hearing. He was in a cell at Moshannon, a facility known for alleged widespread abuse of detainees.
The Eagle has not been able to locate any criminal history tied to Ignacio Carrizalez. Meanwhile, Ignacio’s name did not appear in ICE’s database at the time of his detainment.
“We never thought something like this would happen,” Ignacio said. “I always try to think of potential problems, but I never thought of something like this.”
At Ignacio’s hearing June 18, the immigration judge gave him two options: self-deport, or be deported.
His fate was sealed on a voluntary departure and verification of departure form that read:
1. “On June 18, 2026, you were granted voluntary departure by the (IJ checked off — immigration judge). You are required to depart from the United States on or before July 20, 2026, under safeguard.”
2. “Your request for an extension of time to depart from the United States has been granted. You are required to depart on or before Oct. 16, 2026.”
Ignacio signed off and was eventually released from Moshannon on July 2. The family has since searched for legal options but now prepares to leave Butler to live with Ignacio’s parents in Estacion Manuel, a small town at the bottom of the state of Tamaulipas, nearly 2,000 miles away.
“We didn’t have much of a decision,” Amanda said. “It’s like something out of a movie. I still can’t believe this. I really thought someone was going to save us. When you’re doing something the way you’re supposed to do it, how do you end up punished?
“Everything was up to date. The hearing was scheduled. And ICE did not let him attend the permanent residency hearing that we were waiting for.”
At the Carrizalez home Tuesday, Ignacio and Amanda weaved through boxes and bags, trying to clean the house out and get packed. Pictures from years past of Ignacio and Amanda have not been taken off their fridge yet, but much has already been put away.
They can’t take everything, so they’re prioritizing clothing, important documents, other necessities and Dani’s toys, while trying to find new homes for their animals. They also have to figure out what they can take along and what will cost an additional duty tax.
The family wants to come back to America. They just don’t know when that would be feasible.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services lays out 10 steps to naturalization for potential citizens. However, immigration lawyers have previously told the Eagle it can take up to 10 years to become a resident, depending on the case.
For the time being, the family will try to rent out their home with the help of friends so they don’t have to sell it.
“We try to keep it as positive as we can. This is what it is. We can do nothing about it. We tried to reach out to many different people and that’s not really working. Being positive is all we can do,” Ignacio said.
“Now, we have to look forward. I hope we can come back.”
The bags have grown under their eyes from the stress. They’ve spent months talking to lawyers, reaching out to public officials and searching for a solution, only to end up at this point. The stress ranges from witnessing Dani’s friends not understanding why her family is forced to move away to dealing with the reality that they’ll no longer be afforded the security associated with everyday American life.
The state of Tamaulipas, according to the U.S. Department of State, has a travel advisory of “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” due to criminal activities such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking and more. Cartel activity is common in the state.
Ignacio has previously expressed concern about moving back and having a target on the family’s back simply for coming from America. Worries include having to pay a “quote,” Ignacio said, whether to corrupt police or to cartel members, to simply be left alone. Reports from Mexico highlight cartels often forcing residents to pay extortion fees.
Being from there, Ignacio understands how daily life works. Growing up, his father was a truck driver. He delivered goods and products across the country, occasionally making deliveries in Texas. His appreciation for the country is deep.
His parents have lived there for their entire lives. They know how to keep their heads down, stay out of harm’s way and mind their own business, he said.
But you never know, he said. He saw a story in the Mexican news days ago about how the cartel made a husband and wife disappear because the man refused to pay an extortion fee.
The violence was one of the main things that convinced Ignacio to cross over to the United States years ago while undocumented.
“If I go there and I try to put my skills to work, make a small business, do something to stand out … somebody will come and ask me for a quote,” Ignacio said.
“If I don’t pay that quote, I don’t know. I could disappear somehow. People don’t get it.”
With the Carrizalez family receiving media attention following Ignacio’s arrest, he has largely tried to avoid social media. He has seen some reaction from community members that is understanding and sympathetic to the family’s predicament. In response to others, he said, “there’s too much hate.
“They don’t understand. Or they don’t care. Or they think differently, maybe. I don’t know.”
Ignacio said he doesn’t care what other people think. Amanda and Dani are his whole world.
He reflects on how his father was a truck driver and spent months traveling across the country delivering fruits, spices and other goods. He said he spent too much time away from his father and wants different for Dani.
He came to America to build a better life, he said. He’s now forced to leave the life he has built.
Despite the circumstances, he maintains an optimistic outlook, emphasizing everything he does is for his family.
“There have been ups and downs emotionally. I’ve told her (Amanda) there is not much we can do. We just try to keep positive. We will do our best, try to be safe over there and try to keep it together,” Ignacio said. “We’ll do the best we can, for Dani.”
