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<\/a><\/p>\nSantiago was detained at the El Paso International Airport on August 3rd, 2025, as she attempted to board a flight to Dallas. She was put in immigration detention pending removal proceedings. Santiago was released from immigration detention on October 1, 2025, after U.S. District Judge, Kathleen Cardone ruled that her detention \u201cdeprives her of her constitutional right\u201d to due process.<\/p>\n
At the time of her arrest immigration officials said that Santiago was detained due to her \u201ccriminal history\u201d that includes, according to DHS, \u201ctrespassing, possession of narcotics and drug paraphernalia.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to court documents, \u201cSantiago pled guilty to disorderly conduct for her participation in a civil disobedience action\u201d in 2015. In 2017, she was again charged with civil disobedience but was not convicted. In 2020, she was arrested in Arizona on charges of possessing \u201cdrug and paraphernalia possession.\u201d No charges were filed in that case against her. Since her arrests and guilty plea in the first civil disobedience case, Santiago renewed her DACA status \u201cat least twice,\u201d according to the court records. DACA status limits an immigrant\u2019s ability to travel abroad. However, immigration officials can issue an \u201cadvance parole\u201d to a DACA recipient that allows them to leave the country and return for a specific purpose.<\/p>\n
In the case of Santiago, immigration officials allowed her to leave the country sometime after May 1, 2022, requiring her to return by July 1, 2022. When she returned on June 12, 2022, U.S. immigration officials allowed her to reenter the U.S. even though they could have denied her reentry based on the civil disobedience guilty plea and arrests. DHS officials have cited her guilty plea and arrests as the reason to deport her.<\/p>\n
On January 8, 2025, Santiago married a U.S. citizen. The marriage allows her to apply for permanent resident status (Green Card).<\/p>\n
When Santiago was detained at the airport, immigration officials charged her with not being legally present in the U.S. because she was \u201cnot then admitted or paroled\u201d by on immigration official when she first entered the U.S. in 2005. However, immigration officials conceded to the court that the charge filed against her was \u201cnot the proper charge\u201d because she was paroled when she was approved as a DACA recipient in 2022.<\/p>\n
On September 8, 2025, Immigration Judge Michael Pleters ruled that immigration officials could not deport Santiago because she \u201chad been accorded DACA.\u201d Pleters\u2019 ruling added that her DACA status had \u201cnot been terminated\u201d at the time of her detention by immigration officials.<\/p>\n
On September 2, 2025, a lawsuit filed on behalf of Santiago by El Paso immigration attorney, Christopher Benoit, demanding (Writ of Habeas Corpus) her release from immigration detention because her DACA allows her to be in the country.<\/p>\n
Cardone ordered that DHS release Santiago from immigration detention by 4:00pm on October 2nd, 2025 because of her DACA status. She was released the day before the deadline.<\/p>\n
Cardone\u2019s ruling only addressed her immigration detention but did not rule on whether she could be deported.<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s Immigration Appeals Court Ruling<\/p>\n
On Friday, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) reviewed Pleters\u2019 ruling terminating deportation proceedings against Santiago on September 8, 2025. On Friday, the BIA published its ruling on the matter.<\/p>\n
A BIA ruling that is published updates the guidance for immigration judges to follow when ruling on cases. They are designed to standardize the judges\u2019 rulings on immigration matters and usually set precedent on how immigration laws are to be interpreted. After a ruling, the case is remanded back to the original judge for further action. However, in the case of Santiago, the BIA ordered that the case be remanded \u201cto a new Immigration Judge and for further proceedings consistent\u201d with the BIA\u2019s ruling. It added that the original judge in the case, \u201cerred in terminating removal proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n
The BIA ruling says that DACA is not sufficient to stop deportation proceedings against a DACA recipient. According to the court documents in the immigration court case, DHS argued that DACA could not be used to prevent Santiago from being deported. DHS attorneys also said that \u201cthere is no evidence\u201d that Santiago\u2019s spouse had filed an application for a marriage visa for Santiago at the time of her detention.<\/p>\n
After Pleters terminated Santiago\u2019s deportation on September 8th, 2025, immigration official asked for a reconsideration of the court\u2019s ruling as well as Pleters removal as the judge in the case \u201cbased on a purported email from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the Immigration Judge\u2019s spouse, a member of the United States House of Representatives, that discussed\u201d Santiago.<\/p>\n
Pleters is married to U.S. Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-TX16).<\/p>\n
It is not known what the email to Escobar contains because it is not part of the court record.<\/p>\n
The judge denied both the reconsideration of his ruling and his recusal on September 10th, 2025.<\/p>\n
In its ruling, the BIA agrees with Pleters that terminating deportation proceedings against Santiago is the at the judge\u2019s discretion, but it adds that the discretion against deporting a DACA recipient \u201cis not the sole\u201d reason to end a deportation action. The BIA added that Pleters did not consider DHS\u2019 reasons for removing Santiago from the country. The BIA remanded the ruling back to the immigration courts \u201cfor further consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n
But instead of remanding the case back to Pleters, as is BIA\u2019s normal process, the BIA instead had the Santiago case \u201ctransferred to a different Immigration Judge, which is warranted in an abundance of caution under the specific circumstances in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the BIA\u2019s ruling, \u201cDHS alleged that during the pendency of\u201d Santiago\u2019s removal case, Escobar \u201cmade a public statement on social media specifically discussing and advocating\u201d for Santiago. The BIA concluded that because of the social media post, having a different judge review the case \u201cis the best course of action to avoid the appearance of partiality or bias and to ensure the integrity\u201d of the case against Santiago.<\/p>\n
It is not clear whether Escobar\u2019s social media post was part of the email court records show that was sent by DHS to Escobar or whether the DHS email and Escobar\u2019s post are related. Nonetheless, BIA felt it was necessary to remove Pleters from the case and have another immigration judge decide whether Santiago will be allowed to remain in the country.<\/p>\n
In its ruling, the BIA noted that the immigration appeals court expresses \u201cno opinion as to the ultimate outcome\u201d of the case seeking her removal from the country. The Court also noted that Santiago \u201ccannot be removed from the United States while she has DACA protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Court documents show that her most recent DACA status was set to expire this month.<\/p>\n
It is unknown what the status of her spouse\u2019s application for Santiago\u2019s Green Card is under the marriage to a U.S. citizen immigration relief or whether Santiago\u2019s DACA was renewed before it was set to expire. No date for her next immigration has been made public.<\/p>\n
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Cover photograph credit: Picture of Catalina \u201cX\u00f3chitl\u201d Santiago, via GoFundMe account.<\/p>\n
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