Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 03, 2026 in Washington, D.C.
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday she plans to review the case of a Sacramento mother deported within 24 hours of arriving for her green card appointment last month.
Noem made the statement during a four-hour hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where lawmakers sharply criticized the department’s aggressive immigration enforcement. At one point, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., pressed her on the department’s detention and deportation of recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
The program, created under President Barack Obama, has shielded some people from deportation if they arrived in the U.S. as children and have not been convicted of a crime. Last week, DHS acknowledged it had deported at least 86 recipients in 2025. The vast majority of the deportations had not been publicized.
The Sacramento Bee first reported last month that Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, a mother and DACA recipient with no criminal record, was deported in less than 24 hours. Her removal prompted outcry from state and local lawmakers.
Durbin cited Estrada Juarez’s case in one of his questions to Noem. Emily Hampsten, deputy chief of staff for Durbin, confirmed Wednesday morning that the senator was referring to the Sacramento mother.
Sacramento resident Damaris Bello, 22, holds a picture of herself with her mother Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, who was deported to Mexico after appearing for a green card hearing at the John Moss Federal Building in Sacramento. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com
“We learned about a DACA recipient who had lived in this country for decades, was arrested by ICE at her green card appointment, and in tears she hugged her daughter goodbye,” Durbin said at Tuesday’s hearing. “She was deported to Mexico within 24 hours. Madam Secretary, why have you deported dozens of DACA holders who had to comply with a criminal background check to be eligible?”
In response, Noem said the agency follows “all laws as applicable” to DHS. Durbin interrupted her and asked again: “Why did you deport them?”
“I don’t know the details of that specific case you just read, but I’ll look into it,” Noem replied.
DHS did not respond to questions by Wednesday morning asking if Noem had reviewed Estrada Juarez’s case since the hearing or whether the agency stood by its decision to detain and deport her within 24 hours.
Estrada Juarez’s removal had raised particular concerns given DACA is an exercise of prosecutorial discretion “to not pursue the removal of an individual,” according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policy. The agency is also required to follow a process for terminating DACA, which Estrada Juarez said was not followed in her case.
In response to questions from The Bee last month, DHS said DACA “does not confer any form of legal status in this country” and said Estrada Juarez was previously issued “a final order of removal” in 1998.
Estrada Juarez, who entered the country at 15 in 1998, denied ever receiving an order of removal.
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Mathew Miranda is a political reporter for The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau, covering how decisions in Washington, D.C., affect the lives of Californians. He is a proud son of Salvadoran immigrants and earned degrees from Chico State and UC Berkeley.