A family separation could not stop three California siblings from getting UC diplomas
EdSource has reported on the Ruiz/Gutiérrez family’s separation since 2021. This is the third and final installment in a series about the family’s journey, and includes the penultimate episode of the podcast Education Beat.
On a sweltering hot day in May 2025, three siblings crossed the stage in bright blue gowns and caps, one after another, to receive their diplomas from UC Merced as their parents and younger sister watched proudly.
It had been a long journey for the Gutiérrez Ramírez siblings to get onto that stage. The oldest, Elena, took seven years to finish her bachelor’s degree. Nathan took five. Ignacio, only three.
The celebration that late spring Sunday marked the culmination of years of struggle, dedication and overcoming the challenges of navigating the U.S. immigration system.
Elena, now 26, began studying at UC Merced in fall 2018 as the first in her family to go to college. But the following spring, her dream fell apart.
Her stepdad, José Luis Ruiz Arévalos, who helped raise the siblings since childhood, traveled to Mexico for the final step in his application for permanent residency. He had been living in the U.S. undocumented since his parents brought him at age 17. After he married their mom, Armanda, a U.S. citizen, he applied for a green card.
How immigration policy forced a California family apart and disrupted their educationAugust 16, 2021
A change President Donald Trump made to the so-called “public charge” policy resulted in an almost four-year separation between Ruiz Arévalos and the rest of the family. The policy allows the government to deny green cards to immigrants deemed likely to become primarily dependent on government cash assistance. Trump expanded the policy to also allow denials if immigrants or their U.S.-born children used certain other benefits, including health insurance or food stamps.
Ruiz Arévalos had never used public benefits, but his U.S.-born kids had used food stamps and Medi-Cal. His youngest daughter, Priscila, who was born prematurely and has disabilities, received Supplemental Security Income. He was told he was ineligible for a green card, and he could not return to the U.S.
The separation roiled the family. Elena left UC Merced and returned home to Los Banos, about an hour’s drive from campus, to begin working a variety of jobs to support the family, eventually joining the Army Reserve. She hoped that, by working full time, her younger siblings could follow their college dreams, even if she couldn’t.
“Because I’m the oldest, I’m like the forefront,” she told EdSource in 2021. “I don’t want them to get pressured, too.”
Their father remained in Mexico for almost four years. During that time, Priscila graduated from elementary school and Elena’s younger brothers, Nathan and Ignacio, graduated from high school. Nathan enrolled in community college and worked at a tomato packing plant on the side, while Ignacio followed in his big sister’s footsteps and started at UC Merced in 2022.
Ruiz Arévalos returned to the U.S. in spring 2023 and obtained a green card after the Biden administration rolled back the changes to the public charge policy.
Family reunited after four years separated by immigration policyMarch 23, 2023
His return stabilized the family, and allowed the three siblings to focus on college full time. That fall, Nathan transferred to UC Merced, where Ignacio was starting his sophomore year. The following year, Elena, with encouragement from Ignacio, returned to UC Merced as well.
“Luckily, we have FAFSA and scholarships, but the biggest worry for most of us was, like, how are we going to pay for this? And also, aside from that, sometimes (our) family needs help,” said Ignacio, now 22. “José being back at home makes it a little easier, because now you don’t have to worry so much about family and keeping things in order at home.”
With their father in Mexico, Elena said she assumed the role of a “third parent,” especially to Priscila, who she calls “Baby.”
“Sometimes my mom would rely on me to help Baby and, like, pick her up. Sometimes I would ask permission if I could miss class to do the IEP for Baby,” Elena said. “But now it’s like, okay, there’s two parents in the household, I can try to focus on myself, my self-care, and try to, like, find my career.”
During the 2024-25 academic year, the siblings lived in separate dorms at UC Merced, but they found time to eat together in the dining hall or work out together in the gym. Nathan and Elena took up dance — Nathan joined a K-Pop group and Elena took up baile folklorico. Ignacio became vice president of the chess club.
With her freshman year credits and community college credits, Elena realized she only needed one more year of school. Meanwhile, Ignacio had managed to complete enough credits to graduate in three years.
That’s how the three siblings came to walk together across the graduation stage.
“I was happy that they graduated,” said Priscila, now 16 and a junior in high school.
“I’m very proud,” said their mom, Armanda Ruiz, in Spanish. “One took three years, one took five and one took seven years to graduate. But no matter the time it took, they achieved what you can’t achieve in Mexico because of lack of resources.”
Ruiz Arévalos said it was a dream come true to see his children graduate after the years of separation.
“I’m very happy, very proud that my children achieved their dreams, and that my younger daughter also wants to achieve that dream, following her siblings’ example,” he said in Spanish. “That’s all I wanted — for us all to be together and that each one could achieve their dreams.”
All three siblings majored in psychology. Since graduation, they’ve all been working with children. Elena, now 26, is working as an assistant aide with children with disabilities through the Merced County Office of Education. She’s also still in the Army, and she may soon become a sergeant. Ignacio, now 22, is a tutor at his local high school. Both he and Elena are considering going back to school to become high school counselors. Nathan, 24, is a behavior technician, working with children with autism and other disabilities.
“It’s like building new habits, like remodeling it to something healthy and safe,” Nathan said.
Priscila experienced several milestones with her reunited family as well. She had a quinceañera party when she turned 15. She’s taking an AP course and plans to follow in her older siblings’ footsteps and go to college.
The three graduate siblings said the separation made them resilient. But they still remember how hard it was to have their dad gone. They have advice for others who find themselves in a similar situation now, separated from a parent because of immigration policies.
“Things might look terrible at the moment, but you have to focus on what’s in front of you and not dwell on things too long,” said Ignacio. “Stay as resilient as possible, because you never know, one day they could be back.”
“In moments of despair, a good thing to do is to keep in touch with any family members or any community that you have. You should have a good support system,” added Nathan.
The kids aren’t the only ones who graduated. Soon after returning, Ruiz Arévalos got his G.E.D. in 2024. He also started taking classes to prepare to apply to become a U.S. citizen. He’s been eligible to apply since October, three years after getting his green card. But he’s not sure about applying under the current administration.
In July, the Trump administration reversed Biden’s rollback of the public charge policy changes. Beginning Sept. 18, USCIS officials can consider multiple public benefits used by immigrants applying for green cards, including housing assistance, food stamps and financial aid for college.
A USCIS spokesperson said in a press release that the Trump administration is “protecting American taxpayers from subsidizing aliens who may become dependent on public benefits.”
The new policy doesn’t apply to benefits used before September, and it doesn’t apply to green card holders who are applying for naturalization. Still, Ruiz Arévalos feels his old fears return when watching news coverage of the federal deportation crackdown.
“I was ready, but with the new laws, I got scared. I said to myself I could lose everything I’ve won,” he said.
His wife, Armanda, is preparing for when he becomes a U.S. citizen and continues to advocate for Priscila’s educational rights while she finishes high school.
“We have to be vigilant about our rights,” she said. “That’s why I join groups, to know what our rights are and to make sure that my children and my family’s rights aren’t trampled on. That’s the work of a mother.”
This story was originally published by EdSource.