A promising young hockey player who trained in Scottsdale is now caught up in an immigration battle.
On August 22, Hector Majul was coming back from a visit to his hometown in Mexico. However, when he tried to re-enter the United States, he was denied and his student visa was stripped.
Majul told 12 News he was called to a second inspection as he was going through an immigration check at Houston's William P. Hobby Airport. Agents questioned a small amount of prescription pills he was carrying for his girlfriend.
He was cleared by Houston police and thought he'd be able to catch his connecting flight. But Majul said immigration officials still detained him and for hours he was questioned about his trip.
“They asked me about 50 questions,” said the 23- year-old. He was later told he was being immediately deported on an expedited removal order.
The all-star hockey player said he thought he was being deported for the misunderstanding with his girlfriend’s prescription pills, but was then told it was for a different reason. He would later learn that it was because of his answers to the questions he was asked.
“When he [agent] asked me that question about why did I leave my last place of residence, all I said was to go pursue a career in hockey. He [agent] assumed that I was trying to stay illegally in the United States pursuing this career after my visa had expired,” said Majul.
According to his deportation order, Majul was deported because he is “an immigrant not in possession of a valid unexpired immigrant visa…” even though he had already presented his student visa and had it stamped by immigration officials upon his arrival at the airport. His deportation order states that he cannot enter the country for five years.
Majul has appealed his deportation order but it was denied.
Now, his Scottsdale host mom, Marian Daughterty, is doing whatever she can to get him back, creating a Facebook page to garner support.