Photos: A Graduation, A Celebration, And Self-Deportation

John Moore / Getty Samantha Suazo, 23, stands to be recognized for magma cum laude honors as her father, Marvin Suazo, and mother, Maribel Vasquez, cheer during a graduation ceremony at Yale University on May 18, 2026, in New Haven, Connecticut. Samantha, originally from Honduras, was naturalized as an American citizen in 2025 and became the first member of her family to graduate from college, receiving a B.A. in sociology and from Yale’s Ethnicity, Race, Migration program. She left Honduras at age 11 with her parents seeking asylum, and the family settled in Big Sky, Montana.John Moore / GettySamantha Suazo and fellow students at Saybrook College graduate from Yale University on May 18, 2026.John Moore / GettySamantha Suazo embraces her father, Marvin, as her mother, Maribel, looks on at Samantha’s graduation ceremony on May 18, 2026. When Marvin first brought his family to the United States in 2014, he established a construction company, and Maribel cleaned homes for local residents in Montana. Samantha and Maribel went through the formal U.S. asylum process, although Marvin was ineligible for asylum due to a previous deportation, and he remained undocumented in the U.S. In early 2026, ICE agents deported six of his construction employees following a raid. Under immense stress, the family made a heartbreaking decision to sacrifice family cohesion: Marvin would self-deport to Honduras following Samantha’s graduation from Yale, and the rest of the family would remain living in the U.S.John Moore / GettySamantha poses with her parents after her graduation ceremony.John Moore / GettySamantha and her parents watch as her sister, Zhoe, 11, does cartwheels during a family visit to the Washington Monument on May 18, 2026, in Washington, D.C. After their decision for Marvin to self-deport to Honduras, the family traveled one last time together, down the East Coast, visiting Washington, D.C., Orlando, and Miami before separating.John Moore / GettySamantha and her family touc