in the end were they right to ensure Sofia's return to America?

I don't think they could force Sofia to do anything. She wasn't fond of America in the first place and felt the draw to return to the DR. Sofía feels the pull of these deep roots, although she has one of the most forceful personalities in the novel. The chapter contains various similes comparing Sofía to a natural force such as a “powerful, tamed animal” (28) or calling her face as impassive as a “pale ivory moon” (30) that pulls the tide of her father’s anger when he finds her love letters. These comparisons suggest how Sofía’s instinctive confidence and comfort in her own skin give her an aura of strength that even her father’s fury cannot overcome. Also like a force of nature, she follows her own principles and does not strive to conform to either American or Dominican expectation. She rejects the American ideal of personal ambition, dropping out of college and abandoning pursuit of a career. She also refuses to obey the edicts of the Dominican patriarchy. Perhaps because she does not accept outwardly imposed rules, she acts and speaks without artificiality or nervous self-doubt.