North Texas widow receives immigration approval letter months after husband's death in ICE shooting

The approval letter would've allowed Miguel Garcia to move forward with obtaining a visa or green card.

What was supposed to be a moment of joy turned into heartbreak for a North Texas widow.

A letter addressed to Miguel Garcia arrived in the mail this week, approving his request to move forward with obtaining legal status in the United States. But Garcia didn’t live to see it.

The 31-year-old Mexican national was killed two months ago during a sniper attack at the Dallas ICE facility where he was being held in federal custody.

“Everything’s a reminder. The baby’s a reminder,” said Stephany Gauffeny, Garcia’s widow. She gave birth to their fifth child after his death.

From the garage to the Christmas tree, Gauffeny said she lives with constant memories of Garcia in their Arlington home, which the couple purchased in May.

The latest reminder arrived on Monday, when she opened a letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

“It was under his name, and I had no idea what it was, opened it and instantly started crying because the first thing you see is, 'You’ve been approved,’” she said.

Gauffeny said Garcia had worked for years to obtain legal status in the U.S.

“It’s something we were waiting for for two years,” she said.

The approval letter grants Garcia the ability to begin applying for a visa or green card — something the couple had hoped would allow them to live without fear of deportation.

“It’s right before Christmas time, and it’s hurtful because if he would have been here, it would have been the total opposite,” Gauffeny said. “It would have been a moment of happiness.”

Garcia was arrested for DWI in Arlington in August. In September, while detained at the Dallas ICE facility, he was killed along with another detainee when a rooftop sniper opened fire.

“The grief is always going to be there. It’s never going to be the same as it was,” Gauffeny said.

She questioned why U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would send a letter dated Dec. 9 — two months after her husband’s death.

“I know he would have been really happy,” she said.

NBC 5 has requested comment from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services but has not received a response.