With nearly every seat in the packed Beaverton City Hall chamber filled, Oregon Army National Guard Specialist Daniel Lopez Hernandez stood in quiet dignity near the front, listening as leaders, speaking in both English and Spanish, described how the Parole in Place program had transformed his family’s life.
Chely Castillo opened her remarks in Spanish, a simple acknowledgment to the community she has been diligently working with for over 25 years, pausing periodically for translation by Sgt. 1st Class Rosa Cortez, an Oregon Army National Guard recruiter.
“I want to begin my speech with the word ‘Hope’, because it indicates a feeling of confidence and objective goal and aspiration,” Cortez translated, while reiterating many of the emotions that the Parole in Place offers. “These young people gain significant benefits in their professional and military training when they join the Oregon Army National Guard. Some soldiers can extend this honor to their families by applying for military parole. For their families, hope remains in their hearts.”
Becoming a U.S. citizen is not a quick or simple process, as shifting regulations and unexpected obstacles can slow the journey. Since 2013, the Parole in Place program has offered undocumented parents and spouses of service members a shield from deportation and an expedited pathway to permanent residency. However, only U.S. citizens and permanent residents can join the military.
Spc. Lopez Hernandez joined the Oregon National Guard as a ’13 Bravo’, working as an Army Cannon Crewmember with the 2nd Battalion, 218th Field Artillery Regiment, before he turned 21. Later, his older sister, who is a legal adult but not in the military, was able to finish the second step to get a permanent residency card for their dad. At this stage, the experience of Oregon Army National Guard recruiters became especially helpful with these applications.
“Specialist Lopez [Hernandez] worked incredibly hard to overcome the mental and physical stressors of intimal training. But know what was taking place back at home kept him driving forward to continue his mission,” said Staff Sgt. Anna Mendoza, one of his recruiters, helped him join the Oregon National Guard after graduating from Mountainside High School in Beaverton.
With his enlistment, Señor Lopez was approved for military Parole in Place on May 30, 2024, and by November, he received his permanent resident card. Mendoza said, “It was still several months before he obtained his work permit and Social Security Card,” when it finally arrived on February 17, 2025.
“By honoring (Spc. Lopez), his service today, we are also honoring his family. The Lopez family’s determination and resilience are why we are here today,” Mendoza said. “As a recruiter, there is something I like to share with every recruit. ‘You don’t do anything alone.’ Specialist Lopez, his father, and older sister are a testament to this fact.”
As both a military veteran and a military spouse, Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty felt it was important to hold the ceremony at City Hall and to recognize the Lopez family’s commitment to service.
“I invited several mayors from around the area today because I want to encourage them to consider how these kinds of ceremonies can be held in their own communities,” Beaty said, drawing from her own experience in uniform. “There are not a lot of pathways to citizenship in America, and that’s just the truth. But, as with many great things in life, and in my life, the Army opens those doors. But then it asks you to do the hard thing, which is to walk through it, and walking through the door takes more than courage.”
Beaty then invited Señor Daniel Hector Pablo Lopez to join her and his son to the front of the chamber and presented him with his permanent resident card. A simple gesture that was decades in the making.
After the ceremony, Specialist Lopez Hernandez said his dad felt a sense of pride and relief that today had finally arrived.
“I was really eager to join (the Oregon National Guard), and it was mainly my idea to look into this program. But my family was worried, and over time, the idea soothed down some, and it has really paid off.”
The benefits for the family have become multidimensional. For Señor Lopez, getting his green card means he can finally visit his home country of Mexico after more than 30 years. Specialist Lopez Hernandez is using the Oregon National Guard State Tuition Assistance program, which covers all his tuition, so he can attend Portland State University and work toward completing his double major in Human Resources and Marketing.
“I’ve coming up on three years in the military, and I still enjoy it. There are still areas for growth, and it really helps build a foundation for new opportunities,” Lopez Hernandez said.
The success of this program for the Oregon National Guard has come from community members working closely with Oregon National Guard recruiters around the state. While she was part of the ceremony in Beaverton, Sgt. 1st Class Cortez, who is normally in the recruiting area in the Columbia River Gorge and Eastern Oregon, has been instrumental in completing many of these applications.
“A lot of people who come to see me in the first place do so because they want to serve. I also want everyone to know that Parole in Place is an added benefit, she said, now having served in the Oregon National Guard for over 20 years. “Today, more than 40 percent of the military are Hispanic members. This is possible because of the relationships, trust, and care within the program.”
With the Parole in Place application for Spc. Lopez Hernandez, Cortez said, relies on community members like Chely Castillo to help families interested in the process.
“We do this work all the time. Sitting with Ms. Chely is helpful – she gives us the most basic information, then I can sit down and prequalify them for the Guard,” Cortez said. “As a mom now, when I work with parents in the Parole in Place program and other recruits, I empathize and answer their questions from the heart. I speak honestly, telling them it won’t be easy, but it’s so worth it.”
This illustrates one more reason why Mayor Beaty felt it was important to hold only the second Parole in Place ceremony at Beaverton City Hall on April 16.
“It takes community champions to connect the dots, and someone like Sergeant Cortez to step in when recruiters were transitioning positions. The Army is a family,” Beaty said. “For more than 25 years, I’ve had a front row seat to what it looks like to be a military spouse. It’s led to an extraordinary life, to college, to my husband and home.”
