Brownsville, Texas - Deported DACA recipient Jose Contreras Diaz has finally been released from ICE detention in South Texas.

Contreras was freed on Friday after three months of separation from his family.

The 30-year-old, who has lived in the US since 2004, was detained at an immigration court appointment in January. He was deported to Honduras just weeks before the birth of his son.

In April, Contreras was finally allowed to return to the US with parole, but ICE immediately re-detained him upon his arrival at Harlingen Airport.

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"Jose should never have been detained or deported in the first place, because his DACA status was valid and his parole had been granted," his lawyer, Stacy Tolchin, told El País.

Contreras was reportedly held at the Port Isabel Service Processing Center in South Texas before being transferred to a facility in Harlingen. He was then released at a bus station in Brownsville, around an hour from his home.

"I would not wish what I’ve been through on anyone. They detained me, sent me to a country I barely remember," Contreras said in a statement shared by the Texas Tribune. They "gave me hope – the hope that I could come home, see my family, and hold my son again. Then that hope was taken away."

Contreras' release meant that he was finally able to hold his newborn son, Mateo, for the first time.

Contreras' detention and deportation is part of what advocates describe as an alarming rise in attacks on DACA since the start of Donald Trump's second presidency.

"While we are relieved that Jose Contreras Diaz is finally home and with his loved ones, the federal government’s response to his release should alarm us all," the Home Is Here coalition said in a statement.

"White House officials, including Tom Homan and a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, made clear that they still intend to target Jose for deportation, pointing to a growing rejection by the administration to uphold DACA’s protections."

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The group drew attention to the case of Lisandro Pantaleon Pacheco, another DACA applicant who was detained shortly before graduating from the University of Utah. He was just one year old when he came to the US from Mexico.

The coalition said, "Without question, these incidents are part of the broader efforts to chip away at the DACA program and continue to leave those who are otherwise eligible from obtaining DACA. Already, hundreds of DACA recipients and immigrant youth have been detained and deported since the start of 2025."

"No one should not have to live under constant uncertainty, wondering whether they will be able to remain in the country they call home or stay with their families. Congress must act to provide a pathway to citizenship and pass the DREAM Act once and for all."