Orange Is The New Black actress breaks down recounting her parents' deportation

Diane Guerrero is best known for playing Maritza, a "tough Latina from the 'hood" on Netflix's Orange Is The New Black. But her real-life story is perhaps just as heartbreaking.

Guerrero, the daughter of Colombian immigrants, was just 14 when she arrived home from school one day to discover her parents and older brother had been deported. "I got home, and their cars were there and dinner was started and the lights were on, but I couldn't find them," Guerrero told CNN host Michaela Pereira. She grew up essentially alone, relying on the kindness of neighbors and friends.

In light of reports about potential executive action on immigration by President Obama, Guerrero wrote an op-ed this weekend for The Los Angeles Times detailing her experience, prompting her to appear on CNN today. Guerrero was poised and articulate throughout the interview, even as she broke down discussing how she feels permanently alienated from her parents thanks to being separated.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"It's tough, it's like we've been separated for so long, I feel like sometimes we don't know each other," she said. "It's difficult because I've grown up without them, and there's things about them that are new that I don't recognize, and it just — it hurts." Watch the segment below. --Samantha Rollins