WASHINGTON — A federal decide on Monday ordered the federal government to return to the U.S. a California DACA recipient who was deported final month to Mexico.
U.S. District Choose Dena Coggins in Sacramento gave the federal government seven days to return Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, 42, and restore her protections beneath the Obama-era program Deferred Motion for Childhood Arrivals, “as if her Feb. 19, 2026 removing by no means occurred.”
A lawyer for Estrada Juarez argued that she was unlawfully deported inside a day of showing at a scheduled immigration appointment in Sacramento.
Legal professionals for the federal government, in the meantime, argued that the court docket lacked jurisdiction over Estrada Juarez’s case as a result of her petition was filed after she was deported and since her removing was a discretionary resolution the federal government is entitled to.
Coggins stated she discovered the federal government’s argument “unavailing,” writing in her ruling that Estrada Juarez “was eliminated in flagrant violation of the regulatory protections afforded to her beneath DACA, and in violation of the Constitutional protections afforded to her beneath the Due Course of Clause of the Fifth Modification to the U.S. Structure.”
In an announcement, Estrada Juarez stated she was “overwhelmed with aid and hope” after studying the court docket’s resolution.
The Division of Homeland Safety stated it had reinstated an expedited removing order for Estrada Juarez from 1998, when she was 15. However her lawyer, Stacy Tolchin, stated the report confirmed that the order lacked supervisory approval and was by no means finalized, so there was no legitimate removing order to reinstate.
Homeland Safety beforehand informed The Occasions that an immigration decide had ordered Estrada Juarez’s deportation in 1998 “and she or he was faraway from america shortly after.” Tolchin stated Estrada Juarez by no means noticed an immigration decide.
Estrada Juarez, who labored as a regional supervisor for Motel 6, has had safety from deportation beneath DACA since 2013. She utilized for authorized everlasting residency, or a inexperienced card, by way of her daughter, Damaris Bello, 22, who’s a U.S. citizen.
Her deportation after the inexperienced card interview garnered public consideration and outrage from members of Congress, together with Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).
Tolchin filed the lawsuit searching for her return on March 10.
DACA was created to guard undocumented individuals who had been dropped at the U.S. as kids.
As of June 2025, there have been greater than 515,000 DACA recipients, generally known as “Dreamers,” within the U.S. California has 144,000 DACA recipients, essentially the most of any state, in accordance with federal knowledge.
