ICE detained Tennessee construction worker Diego Hernandez Garcia, then deported him in violation of a federal court order

On December 11, 2025, ICE agents raided a construction site on Hardin Valley Road in Knox County, Tennessee, timing the raid to when workers gathered for lunch; his attorney said witness accounts indicated ICE had been surveilling the site for several days beforehand [5]. Agents detained Diego Hernandez Garcia, a 24-year-old Salvadoran national and Maryville High School graduate who had lived in the U.S. since age 14. Hernandez Garcia held Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and had been granted deferred action in 2022, valid through May 12, 2026, with no criminal record. When he invoked his right to counsel, an officer told him they "did not have time" for it. USCIS revoked his deferred action status that same day — after he was already in ICE custody — and he was transferred to the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility before being moved to a Louisiana facility. Unsealed court records later showed the arresting officer, identified in filings as Officer Barnes, told Hernandez Garcia's attorney that ICE would evaluate USCIS-granted deferred action on a "case-by-case basis" regardless of its terms [4].

On December 23, 2025, despite a standing order from U.S. District Judge Clifton Corker requiring that Hernandez Garcia remain in the United States while his case proceeded, ICE placed him on a flight to El Salvador. His attorney, Rachel Bonano, discovered the removal only after the fact and said she did not believe it was "inadvertent nor a mistake," describing it as part of a pattern of federal immigration authorities disregarding court orders. He was returned to the U.S. that night; government attorneys characterized the removal as a mistake, and Judge Corker ordered immigration authorities to file written steps to prevent a recurrence.

Detaining someone the government had itself found eligible for deferred action, revoking that status only after taking him into custody, and then deporting him in defiance of a court order already in effect treats a federal judge's directive as an obstacle to route around rather than a binding constraint on executive action.

Updates

2026-05-08 — Federal judge denied habeas petition, lifted stay protecting him from removal [3, 5]

Hernandez Garcia had challenged the termination of his deferred-action status and his detention as a violation of his Fifth Amendment due process rights, arguing he was entitled to a hearing before revocation. U.S. District Judge Clifton Corker denied the petition and lifted the stay that had kept him in ICE custody in Louisiana pending review, ruling that deferred action is a discretionary administrative benefit rather than a constitutionally protected interest, and that the executive branch has broad authority to enforce immigration laws without extensive hearings before revoking such a status. Corker acknowledged "the hardship that detention and the prospect of removal present" and the "substantial connections" Hernandez Garcia had developed in the U.S., but reinstated his 2016 in absentia removal order and dismissed the case without prejudice, leaving it open to appeal.

2026-05-26 — Hernandez Garcia deported to El Salvador [3, 5]

Following the denial of his petition, Hernandez Garcia was deported to El Salvador; WBIR and WVLT reported the removal on May 26, 2026, though neither specified the exact deportation date. His attorney, Rachel Bonano, said: "We are very saddened that our community is losing Diego. He was such a nice young man and has been here since he was thirteen years old. He could have continued contributing to this community... As his attorneys, it is disheartening to see this injustice, but it fuels us to keep fighting for our friends and community members."