The paletero knew that, after 30 years of selling ice pops from a pushcart in South San Diego, it would be his last weekend in the United States.

But before Francisco Duarte, 59, and his wife prepared to turn themselves over to immigration agents to be deported across the border, he still had coolers with frozen treats known as paletas in Spanish and snacks waiting to be sold.

He decided to give them away instead. Kids lined up and families wished him well at Cesar Solis Community Park. It was his way of showing thanks and saying goodbye to the community he served.

Many of his clients had known this day was coming for some time.

Duarte had shared the news on social media — him standing in front of his paletero cart, delivering a heartfelt goodbye message that quickly went viral. He and his wife, Rosenda Perez, recently lost their deportation case after fighting it for eight years.

“We fought court after court,” he said in Spanish in the video posted on Instagram in late September. “We were holding on to the hope that everything would turn out fine. It didn’t.”

As of Friday, the video titled “Paletero’s Message to His San Diego Community Before Being Deported” has been viewed over 2.3 million times.

Duarte and his wife were detained by Border Patrol outside their National City home in May 2017, in a case that garnered widespread attention at the time. Federal officials said he was arrested on suspicion of human smuggling.

But Duarte said they were not charged with that crime. His wife was released from immigration custody after 17 days, but he remained in detention for seven months.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that Duarte had a prior conviction for illegal entry.

The couple’s immigration case lasted years, including during the pandemic. However, in late September, an immigration judge ordered them removed to Mexico, McLaughlin said.

This time, they chose not to appeal the ruling. Duarte estimated that the couple had spent about $100,000 on lawyer fees and other expenses combined over the years. The stress took a toll on them and their four children, all of whom are U.S. citizens.

“For my health, for my children’s, for my wife’s, we’ve decided it would be better to part ways from this beautiful country that gave us so much,” he said. “There’s a reason God did things the way he did. I will be fine.”

The sound of bells

For years, the loud chime of the bells on his ice cream cart let the neighbors on the streets of South San Diego know he was around.

Silvia Tapia had been buying from him for eight years. Her dogs would bark as soon as they heard the unmistakable sound from a distance.

“He’s very friendly,” she said as she ordered a treat at her front door. “He always asks how we’re all doing. He knows my family.”

On his way back from Tapia’s apartment, a girl hollered at Duarte.

“I already know what she’s going to order,” he said, smiling.

The girl’s father, Javier Romero, who is also a paletero, came out to pay for a bag of Cheetos doused with hot sauce and a chocolate ice pop.

When Romero started out, Duarte approached him on a National City street to wish him luck and gifted him with more popsicles to sell. “He told me to do my best and said he was happy to see me get started,” he recalled.

Even though Romero is an ice cream vendor himself, his daughter would always buy snacks from Duarte whenever she heard the familiar sound of his cart.

“I will never forget what he did for me that day,” Romero said.

Duarte said he was motivated to help Romero in part because he was reminded of his own beginnings. “I saw myself in him,” he said.

Inocencio Muñoz, who was his client for 10 years, said Duarte will be missed.

“I always saw him working,” he said. “Sometimes, even at night, there he was, pushing his cart.”

Going back to Mexico

Duarte first came to the United States in search of a better life. He recalled that he spent his first two days sleeping in Chicano Park, where he met a paletero who told him his boss might be able to offer him a job. He later met his wife, who also sold ice pops for a living.

Duarte said he wanted his four children to have the opportunities that he and his wife didn’t have growing up in Mexico. Two of his children got into Stanford University, and his daughter, Aracely, is currently on leave from Harvey Mudd College in Claremont. His oldest son works in restaurants.

“I’m leaving happy, because of what I’ve planted,” he said.

Duarte’s white Ford trunk was packed early Oct. 23 outside his National City house. Inside were suitcases, large bags and pool cues, a nod to his love of the game, as well as a camper stove so he and his wife could cook a meal as soon as they arrived at their new home in Tijuana.

“I have nothing but fond memories of the United States,” he said as he folded his last clothes and placed them in a suitcase inside the vehicle.

Still, there wasn’t enough room in the trunk for everything he wanted to bring for his one-way trip. His beloved ice cream cart was stored in his backyard.

He hoped that one of his children would eventually bring it to Mexico, more as a memento than anything else.

Daughter Aracely created a GoFundMe page to help her parents with their transition to Mexico and other expenses.

“Although this was not the decision we wanted, we can finally conclude this chapter in all our lives,” she wrote about her parents’ long-running immigration case.

“To anyone who ever bought ice cream from my dad, gave him words of encouragement or just said hello, to those who became his friends, his family, su gente y su pueblo, thank you. God bless.”

As he was finishing up packing, some of his family and friends from church stopped by to wish him well. They waved goodbye as his vehicle backed out onto the street.

The family drove to the San Ysidro Port of Entry, as federal immigration officials asked them to do, to have their ankle monitors removed. The monitors had been put on after their final hearing, and the family needed them removed in order to leave for Mexico. However, upon arrival, the agents noticed media observing the scene and directed the couple to the federal building in downtown San Diego instead.

Hours later, Duarte and his wife were sent back to Mexico. There, they were met by Mexican immigration officials, Duarte said.

A new start

Mexican Congressmember Maribel Solache, who was in contact with the Duarte family during their process of returning to Mexico, said there is still much to be done to assist Mexican nationals who have chosen to return after many years in the United States — including those who want to do so quietly.

“Nearly one year after the 2024 U.S. election, we still have a lot more work to do to truly embrace returning immigrants,” she said.

Duarte reached out to her with questions about obtaining the Mexican documents he needed to start his life over in Mexico.

After spending his first night in a Tijuana hotel, Duarte said he felt “calm, happy, and, above all, free.”

Duarte and his wife plan to rent a house in Tijuana so that their children can visit them.

He now intends to open a restaurant and visit family members in his native state of Sonora, whom he has not seen in a long time. His days of selling ice pops on the street are likely behind him.

“It was 30 fruitful years,” he said. “I made the most of every day and every minute.”

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