‘I can’t take this anymore’: KC-area immigrant from Netflix show to leave U.S.
Jailed, in physical pain and feeling utterly defeated, Luis Diaz Inestroza — a Kansas City, Kansas, immigrant who illegally crossed over into the United States 13 years ago — has chosen to return to Honduras.
In 2019, during the first term of President Donald Trump, the life of Diaz Inestroza, his 3-year-old stepson, Noah, and his then-pregnant partner, Kenia Mayorga, was featured along with the stories of seven other families in the six-part Netlix docuseries “Living Undocumented,” produced by singer and actress Selena Gomez.
Diaz Inestroza and his family would subsequently come to settle in Kansas City, Kansas, where he began a repair and remodeling business, bought a house and sent his children (two of whom are U.S. citizens) to school. Other than entering the U.S. illegally, he has no criminal offenses. Although he did not have legal status, he was given a work card and Social Security number.
That was until July, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, with no previous warrant, stopped him in his work truck and took him into custody. He is being detained in Chase County Jail in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.
KCK man faced deportation
On Monday, Diaz Inestroza appeared by video in U.S. Immigration Court in Kansas City, 2345 Grand Blvd., where he was denied the opportunity to be released on bond.
Facing what could be months in jail, and hurting frm what he believes may be an infected tooth, Inestroza contacted his Kansas City attorney, Megan Galicia of Martinez Immigration Law, to say he wanted to return to Honduras.
“He said, ‘I can’t stay here another day. I can’t take it anymore,’” Galicia said Wednesday. “’I want to ask to be deported,’ is what he essentially said.”
Galicia said she advised her client to take a day to think about and discuss the decision with his family. Diaz Inestroza is the sole provider for his family. Mayorga, his partner, is in early pregnancy.
Since Diaz Inestroza was detained, a GoFundMe page with an increased goal of $15,000 has been established.
As of Wednesday, $4,560 had been donated.
Afraid to return to Honduras
Diaz Inestroza signed a “petition for voluntary departure” on Tuesday. It is unclear when he will be deported.
In May, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and other agencies such as U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, launched a self-deportation incentive program, in which individuals who choose to self-deport would receive travel expenses and a $1,000 “exit bonus” if they do so through the CBP Home App.
Critics warn that utilizing the program comes with significant risks, including the possibility of being ineligible to re-enter the U.S. for many years if not indefinitely. Individuals such as Diaz Inestroza, who chose to leave after being arrested, are not eligible for the program.
At this point, Galicia said, Mayorga and her children, Noah, now 10, and daughter Janery, age 6, plan to remain in the United States. Inestroza also has a son, a U.S. citizen, from a previous relationship.
“He is afraid to return to Honduras,” Galicia said of Diaz Inestroza. “But, I mean, he just felt completely defeated. . . He just wants the suffering to stop.”
This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 2:34 PM.
