El Paso, Texas - A federal judge in Texas has ordered the release of detained DACA recipient Catalina "Xóchitl" Santiago in a major win for immigrants' rights advocates.

Government attorneys "did not present any evidence indicating that Santiago has endangered anyone during her twenty years at liberty, including her thirteen years under DACA," US District Judge Kathleen Cardone wrote in her 31-page ruling.

"Tellingly, they have failed to even articulate an individualized reason for which she should be detained."

Santiago is a Mexican citizen who has lived in the US for two decades, since she was eight years old. She is a DACA recipient whose status remains valid through April 29, 2026.

Donald Trump Mike Johnson put on blast for appearing to agree that Trump is cognitively "unwell"

She was arrested without a warrant at the El Paso International Airport on August 3 of this year by Customs and Border Protection officers and transferred to ICE custody.

Before her arrest, Santiago was not notified by US authorities of any intent to end her DACA status before the expiration date, nor was she allowed the opportunity to respond.

DACA recipients must be provided with due process before their status is terminated.

"A core benefit of DACA is that it allows recipients to live, study, and work in the United States without fear of arrest or deportation. It would be incongruous to find that DACA recipients acquire a constitutionally protected interest in their DACA benefit, but not one of its essential facets: their liberty," Cardone wrote.

The judge set a deadline of 4:00 PM on October 2 for ICE to release Santiago.

DACA provides protection from deportation and work authorization to around 525,210 people, known as Dreamers, according to survey data released in August. Recipients must have arrived in the US under the age of 16 and continuously resided in the country since June 15, 2007.

A US appeals court in January allowed current DACA recipients across the country to keep their protections as long as they met their requirements and renewed their status.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration filed a plan to begin processing new DACA applications for the first time in four years.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. RFK Jr. loses libel lawsuit over reporting of ties to anti-vaccine neo-Nazi groups

In Texas, where Santiago's case played out, recipients would only receive deportation protections but not work authorizations, nor would they be considered "lawfully present" in the US.

The proposal is pending approval by US District Judge Andrew Hanen, who has previously ruled DACA unlawful.

Santiago's release provides a ray of hope amid the Trump administration's escalating assault on immigrant communities.

"Today’s decision is a reminder that the government is not above the law," Bridget Pranzatelli, staff attorney at the National Immigration Project, said in a statement.

"The court affirmed what we have known from the start: detaining Xóchitl, a DACA recipient who has dedicated her life to uplifting immigrant communities, was not only unconscionable, it was also wholly unlawful," she added.

The Home is Here campaign last month unveiled a new tracker listing nearly 20 DACA recipients with valid status and more immigrant youth currently being held in US custody.

"The decision is also a huge win for all DACA recipients – and any noncitizen who has been allowed to stay in this country with the government's permission," said Luis Cortes Romero, partner at Novo Legal.

"The decision makes clear that these individuals cannot lawfully be detained without the government providing some valid reason why they present a flight risk or a danger to others."