Sacramento mother who was deported to Mexico despite DACA status returns home

Maria de Jesús Estrada Juárez, a Sacramento mother who was deported to Mexico after attending a scheduled green card appointment, has returned to the United States after more than a month away from her family.Estrada Juárez said the separation from her daughter was devastating.“There’s nothing that I didn’t miss more than my daughter,” Estrada Juárez said. “This has been one of the most painful experiences of my life.”Estrada Juárez was detained during a scheduled green card appointment and was deported last month. Her daughter said she has lived in the U.S. since she was 15 years old and is a DACA recipient navigating the immigration process.“She has built her life here with honesty and hard work,” Damaris Bello, Maria’s daughter, said. “But instead of coming home, she was detained and deported in less than a day. We didn’t get to say goodbye. We didn’t understand what was happening.”According to her attorney, Stacy Tolchin, Estrada Juárez was deported Feb. 19, based on a 1998 removal order that Tolchin argues was never finalized.“When we got the paperwork, not only was there this reinstatement order, but also then that you look at the 1998 expedited removal order, and the supervisory box isn’t checked,” Tolchin said. “And the regulations are clear that if the supervisor doesn’t review the document, it’s not a final order.”A lawsuit challenging the deportation was filed on March 10. On March 23, a court ordered that Estrada Juárez be returned to the United States within seven days.“This is really a case where the law was not followed. It’s not questionable,” Tolchin said.Tolchin said Estrada Juárez is now back in DACA status and her renewal is pending. Her legal team hopes a judge will reconsider her green card application.Estrada Juárez said she wants to speak out on behalf of others facing similar immigration cases.“What happened to me should not happen to anyone,” she said. “I am home now, and I will use my voice to make sure others are not silenced or taken away the way I was.”See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Maria de Jesús Estrada Juárez, a Sacramento mother who was deported to Mexico after attending a scheduled green card appointment, has returned to the United States after more than a month away from her family.

Estrada Juárez said the separation from her daughter was devastating.

“There’s nothing that I didn’t miss more than my daughter,” Estrada Juárez said. “This has been one of the most painful experiences of my life.”

Estrada Juárez was detained during a scheduled green card appointment and was deported last month. Her daughter said she has lived in the U.S. since she was 15 years old and is a DACA recipient navigating the immigration process.

“She has built her life here with honesty and hard work,” Damaris Bello, Maria’s daughter, said. “But instead of coming home, she was detained and deported in less than a day. We didn’t get to say goodbye. We didn’t understand what was happening.”

According to her attorney, Stacy Tolchin, Estrada Juárez was deported Feb. 19, based on a 1998 removal order that Tolchin argues was never finalized.

“When we got the paperwork, not only was there this reinstatement order, but also then that you look at the 1998 expedited removal order, and the supervisory box isn’t checked,” Tolchin said. “And the regulations are clear that if the supervisor doesn’t review the document, it’s not a final order.”

A lawsuit challenging the deportation was filed on March 10. On March 23, a court ordered that Estrada Juárez be returned to the United States within seven days.

“This is really a case where the law was not followed. It’s not questionable,” Tolchin said.

Tolchin said Estrada Juárez is now back in DACA status and her renewal is pending. Her legal team hopes a judge will reconsider her green card application.

Estrada Juárez said she wants to speak out on behalf of others facing similar immigration cases.

“What happened to me should not happen to anyone,” she said. “I am home now, and I will use my voice to make sure others are not silenced or taken away the way I was.”

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel