Orange County Wedding Photographer Detained While Traveling to Texas Job
Orange County Photographer Deported En Route to Work in Texas
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — Adan Caceres, a photographer based in Orange County, recently faced deportation while on his way to a work assignment in Texas. The incident occurred at John Wayne Airport in October as Caceres attempted to board a flight for a wedding photography job.
Caceres, who fled El Salvador in 2014 seeking asylum due to violence, expressed his frustration over the situation. "I was trying to do it the right way, the legal way, and it just feels like they don’t care about that," he stated.
He revealed that he had not received a deportation order issued in 2018 and only became aware of it in 2023, prompting him to begin the process of reopening his case. Caceres emphasized his commitment to ethical conduct, declaring, "I was paying my taxes. I’m a business owner, I’m a wedding photographer. I’m also married."
During his detention, Caceres was transferred from Santa Ana to the Adelanto Detention Center and later to a facility in El Paso, Texas. He described the conditions there as "inhumane," stating that detainees were deprived of basic necessities. "We’re not even asking ‘hey let us out,’ we’re asking for water, we’re asking for us to be able to use the restroom; these are basic human rights," he lamented.
Now back in the country he fled, Caceres’s primary concern is for his wife, who remains in Orange County. "I was providing a lot of income for our household, and now my wife has to take care of all of those things on her own—paying car insurance, the rent, all the bills," he said.
With no criminal history, Caceres feels he was on a path toward citizenship before his deportation disrupted his life and left his family’s future uncertain. "I don’t know if I’m going to see them. I don’t know when I’m going to see them," he added.
FOX11 has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on Caceres’ case but had not received a response at the time of this report.
