Sobbing Children Say Goodbye To Their Mother As She's Deported After 18 Years Of Marriages To Former Marine And Iraq War Veteran.

After teary goodbyes to her two children, Alejandra Juarez, the wife of a former Marine and Iraq War veteran, was deported Friday, despite asking the president to allow her to stay in the country with her family.

Nine members of Congress also wrote to Donald Trump, imploring him to intervene on behalf of Juarez, who has lived in the U.S. for 20 years and been married to former Marine Sgt. Cuauhtemoc 'Temo' Juarez, who is a U.S. citizen, for 18 years. 

The couple, of Davenport, Florida, has two children who are both U.S. citizens, Pamela, age 16, and 8-year-old Estela.

Alejandra Juarez, 38, left, says goodbye to her children, Pamela and Estela at the Orlando International Airport on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. Juarez, the wife of a former Marine, was preparing to self-deport to Mexico in a move that would split up their family

Alejandra Juarez is pictured here with her husband, former Marine Sgt. Cuauhtemoc 'Temo' Juarez, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1995-1999 and has since joined the Army National Guard in Florida

'My daughters mean everything to me,' Juarez said in a statement. 'They are the reasons for me to keep going every day, and to keep fighting to remain here ... Their life is here and my life is here with them.'

She plans to eventually have her youngest daughter join her in Mexico - a difficult decision for the family, because it divides the two daughters who are very close, said Richard Maney, Juarez' Florida-based attorney.

'It is a dark day for our community,' Maney told MailOnline.com. 'Very, very tearful. We have a wonderful, warm family being split down the middle.'  

Juarez was 16 years old when she crossed the border, fleeing violence in her community at the time, and was coached by a smuggler to avoid paths to legal immigration, although she may have qualified. She has now spent more of her life in the U.S. than in her home country of Mexico.

During a traffic stop in 2013 she was flagged for being in the country illegally and began regular supervised check-ins with officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

Under the Obama administration - and as a law-abiding military spouse - she was told repeatedly that she was not a priority for deportation proceedings. 

The couple, of Davenport, Florida, has two children who are both U.S. citizens, Pamela, age 16, and 8-year-old Estela

Alejandra Juarez poses with her daughters, Pamela, 16, and Estela, 8. Juarez is slated for deportation on Aug. 3, despite having no criminal record and being married to a U.S. citizen who is a retired Marine 

'ICE (officials) here had been supervising Alejandra for five years without any problem,' Maney said. 'ICE, when they first came across her five years ago, saw that she deserved to stay in the United States. It's just that now they were directed under President Trump's zero tolerance policy to deport.' 

Juarez had sought to resolve her immigration status by requesting 'parole in place,' a protective status that would allow her to remain, or a stay of removal. She was denied in both cases.

'She freely and voluntarily appeared today and got on a plane because she was told to,' Maney said. 'She's a law abiding person.' 

Alejandra Juarez poses with her daughters, Pamela, 16, and Estela, 8. Juarez is slated for deportation on Aug. 3, despite having no criminal record and being married to a U.S. citizen who is a retired Marine

Her husband served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1995-1999 and has since joined the Army National Guard in Florida. Also originally from Mexico, he became a naturalized citizen a few days before being deployed to Iraq with the National Guard.

As many as 11,800 current members of the U.S. military have a spouse or family member who is facing an order of deportation, according to the Military Times. 

Juarez's plight sparked a hashtag (#KeepAlejandraHere) and has drawn the attention of politicians.

'While Mrs. Juarez did cross the border illegally in 1998, she acknowledges her wrongdoing and has since continued to meet every six months with immigration officials seeking a path towards remaining in the United States,' the members of Congress wrote to Trump.

'For twenty years Mrs. Juarez has not posed a danger to her community, and separating her from her family will be detrimental to her two daughters and husband. Urgent action is needed,' the letter continued.

At the same time, a bill called the Protect Patriot Spouses Act could help families like the Juarezes, however the legislation has failed to make progress in Congress despite having bipartisan support.