California mother and DACA recipient reunited with daughter after unlawful deportation
Sacramento, California - A DACA recipient from California has reunited with her family after being wrongfully deported by the Trump administration.
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez had lived in the US for 27 years when she was detained by ICE at an immigration hearing on February 18. She deported to Mexico one day later and separated from her 22-year-old daughter, Damaris Bello, who is a US citizen.
The 42-year-old mother had been granted protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2013 under then President Barack Obama. She had received a removal order in 1998, which was revived after her February arrest.
US District Judge Dena Coggins said the deportation was a "flagrant violation" of DACA protections and ordered Estrada Juarez's return to the US by March 30.
"I didn’t get to say goodbye," Estrada Juarez said during a press conference on Tuesday, per the Associated Press. "It all happened so fast. This has been one of the most painful experiences of my life."
Bello said, "It’s hard to describe what it feels like to lose your mother so suddenly, especially when you believed she was safe," adding, "It was like grieving someone who was still alive."
Immigrants' rights advocates demand greater protections for DACA recipients
In the wake of Estrada Juarez's deportation, immigrants' rights advocates are calling for greater protections for DACA recipients, including a pathway to citizenship.
DACA provides protection from deportation and work authorization to around 525,210 people, known as Dreamers, according to survey data released last August. Recipients must have arrived in the US under the age of 16 and continuously resided in the country since June 15, 2007.
"Our hearts are full knowing that Maria can hug her daughter once again. Her return home is a monumental victory for all of us who have been fighting to bring attention to the grave threats against the DACA program," the Home Is Here Coalition said in a statement.
"Maria’s victory is a reminder to the federal government that due process isn’t optional. We will continue to fight to ensure Maria is able to stay with her family in the US, push for the immediate release and return of all other DACA recipients who have been wrongfully detained or deported, and demand a pathway to citizenship for the millions left vulnerable to violent anti-immigrant attacks."
"We hope that Maria and her family can begin to heal after surviving this trauma, and we carry her strength with us as we fight for justice and accountability for those who have not yet been able to see their loved ones again."
Last September, the Home Is Here Coalition unveiled a tracker of immigrant youth and DACA recipients abducted under the second Trump administration. As of April 1, more than 75 people are on the list.
Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire