The Key Bridge took her daughter’s father. Now, ICE is moving to deport her.

Roughly two years after the father of her daughter died during the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Zoila Guerra Sandoval faces the possibility of deportation.

Guerra Sandoval, a native of Guatemala who has lived in Maryland for nearly two decades, is the former partner of José Mynor López, one of the workers repairing the Key Bridge overnight when the Dali struck it in March 2024.

The six men who died were immigrants from Central America and Mexico, survived by dozens of immediate and extended family members left not only to grieve but also to navigate new financial pressures and other demands resulting from the loss.

Local nonprofits and elected leaders — even federal officials — rallied to support them, helping establish access to services like therapy and financial assistance.

That included connections to immigration attorneys, who stepped in to secure special permission on humanitarian grounds for roughly 50 people to travel to the U.S. to attend funeral services. Attorneys also helped file petitions for noncitizen family members who were living in the U.S. without secured immigration status.

Guerra Sandoval, who is undocumented, decided to come out of the shadows and request a temporary protection. Under federal law, she could one day be eligible for permanent residency because her daughter is a citizen.

“It gave me joy to think about that chance,” she said in an interview with The Banner.

But her request was denied in February. Earlier this month, she received notice to appear before an immigration judge for deportation proceedings starting this summer.

Despite the possibility of returning to Guatemala after almost 20 years, Guerra Sandoval said she plans to fight her case and remains focused on her daughter.

“My daughter is still young, and she has a future here,” she said.

Guerra Sandoval’s attorney, Rachel Girod, said the deportation effort reflects a wider pattern as the Trump administration expands immigration enforcement beyond those who pose criminal or national security risks.

Individuals with temporary permission to be in the U.S. have seen their status evaporate overnight or been targeted for removal to a third country. Military members’ spouses, who previously may have seen leniency, have even been caught up in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s dragnet.

“This puts to the test the ethos that anybody without status is a priority,” Girod said.

Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, whose office helped expedite visitor visas for some of López’s family in Guatemala to attend his funeral, said in a statement: “Once again, the Trump Administration is showing that they are not focused on the ‘worst of the worst,’ as they claimed. This inhumanity must be reined in.”

Guerra Sandoval and López separated years before the Key Bridge collapsed. Their Maryland-born daughter was 5 years old and living with her father at the time of the tragedy. She’s now living with Guerra Sandoval.

We Are CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization that helped coordinate the humanitarian response to the bridge victims’ families, conducted immigration legal screenings for about 30 individuals connected to the victims. They handled some of the cases in-house while connecting others to outside attorneys. Some cases have resulted in more stable legal immigration status; some are still pending.

Family members of other bridge victims told The Banner they’ve become increasingly nervous for what could happen with their pending petitions since Trump took office.

Ama Frimpong, We Are CASA’s director of services, said that Guerra Sandoval thought she’d be granted legal protection, only to have it “weaponized against her.” Frimpong called on ICE to stop trying to deport Guerra Sandoval, adding lawmakers should carve out a long-term solution for the family members of the bridge victims.

Guerra Sandoval applied for a legal process known as “parole in place,” a necessary step for her to be able to one day apply for a green card through her daughter without having to leave the United States for at least 10 years. She also applied for deferred action, a short-term but renewable protection that would formally deprioritize her for deportation and allow her to work legally.

But those protections are still subject to the whims of the Trump administration because they are considered discretionary.

Girod first submitted Guerra Sandoval’s paperwork in November 2024, one of the last months of the Biden administration. She was instructed to write all over the application that it was a Key Bridge case, she said — she even Sharpied on the outside of the envelope.

The packet was sent back to her about six weeks later, just before Trump took office. It was returned for not including the correct filing fees, Girod said. But Guerra Sandoval had been told earlier her fees would be waived. When Girod resubmitted the application, Trump was already in the White House and the application was denied.

The February denial letter from USCIS concluded that “the positive factors in your case failed to outweigh the negative factors.” Girod said that the only factor counted against Guerra Sandoval was having entered the country without authorization.

DHS has broad discretion in these matters, and the denial is perfectly legal, Girod said. “Whether it’s disgusting is a different question,” she added.

Catalina Rodriguez Lima, who runs immigrant affairs under Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, wrote in a statement that her office would continue to support Guerra Sandoval and is coordinating with her attorney for any upcoming hearings before a judge.

All the while, Guerra Sandoval said she’s keeping her faith in God that she’ll be allowed to remain in the U.S.