EFFORT TO WIN MORE SEATS IN CONGRESS FOR DEMOCRATS. WE’RE HEARING FROM A NATOMAS MOTHER WHO SAYS SHE WAS WRONGFULLY DEPORTED. SHE SAYS SHE WANTS THE DREAM ACT PASSED. THE ACT WAS INTRODUCED MORE THAN A DECADE AGO. IT WOULD HAVE GIVEN IMMIGRANTS WHO ENTERED THE U.S. AS A CHILD A PATH TO CITIZENSHIP. THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION CREATED DACA WHEN IT DIDN’T PASS. NOW, IT ISN’T A PATHWAY TO PERMANENT LEGAL STATUS BECAUSE IT HAPPENED THROUGH AN EXECUTIVE ORDER. INSTEAD, IT ALLOWS DEPORTATION PROTECTIONS THAT CAN BE RENEWED EVERY TWO YEARS. MARIA ESTRADA JUAREZ CAME TO CALIFORNIA AS A KID AND SAYS DACA SHOULD HAVE PROTECTED HER. I FOLLOW THE RULES. I RENEW MY DACA. I WORK HARD. I DID EVERYTHING I COULD TO BUILD A STABLE LIFE AND GIVE MY DAUGHTER THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT I NEVER HAD. BUT ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, EVERYTHING CHANGED. I WAS WRONGFULLY DEPORTED. IN A SINGLE MOMENT, NEARLY THREE YEARS OF MY LIFE WERE TAKEN AWAY FROM ME. IN SEPTEMBER, KRISTI NOEM RECEIVED A LETTER FROM SENATORS CLAIMING AGENTS WERE ILLEGALLY TARGETING DACA RECIPIENTS. NOEM H
Sacramento mother advocates for Dream Act after being deported despite being a DACA recipient
Updated: 4:57 PM PST Mar 6, 2026
Maria Estrada Juarez, a mother from the Natomas neighborhood in Sacramento who was deported after a scheduled green card appointment despite being protected under DACA, is advocating for the passage of the Dream Act to provide a path to citizenship for immigrants who entered the U.S. as children. The Dream Act, introduced more than a decade ago, would have given certain immigrants who entered the U.S. as children a path to citizenship, but it did not pass, leading to the creation of DACA by the Obama administration. DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, was established through an executive order and offers deportation protections that can be renewed every two years. But it does not provide permanent legal status.Family members previously told KCRA 3 that Estrada Juarez had lived in the U.S. since she was 15 years old. She was deported within 24 hours of her appointment. “I followed the rules, nearly 30 years of my life were taken away from me,” Estrada Juarez said during a virtual press conference on Thursday.Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, California Sen. Alex Padilla and other immigration advocates called for bringing her home. In September, now former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem received a letter from senators claiming agents were illegally targeting DACA recipients.Noem confirmed that between January and November, 261 DACA recipients were arrested, and 86 were deported.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 channelPHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
Maria Estrada Juarez, a mother from the Natomas neighborhood in Sacramento who was deported after a scheduled green card appointment despite being protected under DACA, is advocating for the passage of the Dream Act to provide a path to citizenship for immigrants who entered the U.S. as children.
The Dream Act, introduced more than a decade ago, would have given certain immigrants who entered the U.S. as children a path to citizenship, but it did not pass, leading to the creation of DACA by the Obama administration.
DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, was established through an executive order and offers deportation protections that can be renewed every two years. But it does not provide permanent legal status.
Family members previously told KCRA 3 that Estrada Juarez had lived in the U.S. since she was 15 years old. She was deported within 24 hours of her appointment.
“I followed the rules, nearly 30 years of my life were taken away from me,” Estrada Juarez said during a virtual press conference on Thursday.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, California Sen. Alex Padilla and other immigration advocates called for bringing her home.
In September, now former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem received a letter from senators claiming agents were illegally targeting DACA recipients.
Noem confirmed that between January and November, 261 DACA recipients were arrested, and 86 were deported.
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