ICE arrested DACA recipient at her permanent residency interview and deported her the next day under a decades-old removal order

On February 18, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez — a 42-year-old Sacramento resident and active Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient — when she arrived at a scheduled interview to obtain permanent residency. ICE deported her to Mexico the following day under a 1998 removal order, before she had any opportunity to contest the removal or be heard. Estrada Juarez had lived in the United States for 27 years, entering at age 15, and had maintained DACA status since 2013. She left behind a U.S.-citizen daughter.

The government's stated basis for deportation was a 1998 removal order from a prior removal, which DHS claimed made Estrada Juarez ineligible for permanent residency; she appeared at the interview as part of a lawful path she believed was open to her. ICE arrested her at the interview itself and removed her within hours, providing neither advance notice of intended deportation nor opportunity to be heard on the status of her DACA protections.

Updates

2026-03-12 — Estrada Juarez filed federal lawsuit seeking return to the United States [3]

On March 12, 2026, Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking a court order requiring her return to the United States. The complaint alleged that her deportation violated her DACA protections and denied her due process. The lawsuit directly precipitated the March 24, 2026 temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins.

2026-03-24 — Federal judge issued temporary restraining order finding the deportation a "flagrant violation" of Estrada Juarez's DACA protections [1]

U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins issued a temporary restraining order finding that the federal government "flagrantly violated" Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez's DACA protections when it removed her from the United States. Judge Coggins found that Estrada Juarez had been "conferred substantial benefit pursuant to her DACA status, including the right to live and work in the United States without fear of removal," and that the government deprived her of that benefit "without any notice or opportunity to be heard as to why her DACA status should not be terminated." The order required the government to facilitate her return within seven days.

2026-03-31 — Estrada Juarez returned to Sacramento and held a news conference with her daughter [1, 2]

Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez returned to Sacramento and was reunited with her U.S.-citizen daughter, fulfilling the court's return order. She spoke at a news conference in Sacramento on March 31, 2026, describing the separation from her family and expressing relief at her return. Her deportation had lasted approximately six weeks.