Francisco Javier Vela Rodriguez, 48, says he was stopped by police while he was shopping near his home in California last year. They asked him for identification, but because he was an undocumented immigrant, he didn’t have any. Rodriguez was taken into custody, turned over to ICE, and deported back to Mexico, where he hadn’t been in nearly 30 years. Now he’s trying to build a new life.

Haley Joelle Ott, Guadalajara Fall 2018 Adelante Fellow

His work room