Federal Judge Orders Return of Deported DACA Recipient

A federal judge in Sacramento ordered the U.S. government on Monday to return a DACA recipient to the United States within seven days after she was detained and deported to Mexico during a routine green card interview last month. Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, 42, who has lived in California for nearly 30 years, was removed despite her active protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shields certain undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children from deportation.

Estrada Juarez entered the United States without authorization in 1998 at age 15 and has held DACA status continuously since 2013. She attended an adjustment of status interview on February 18, 2026, in downtown Sacramento as part of her application for lawful permanent residency through her 22-year-old U.S. citizen daughter, Damaris Bello. Accompanied by Bello, Estrada Juarez brought documents including tax records and proof of her DACA status. During the appointment, immigration officials denied her application, citing a decades-old removal order from 1998 that she said she had never received or been aware of. Agents then detained her on the spot, and she was deported to...