Diego Hernandez Garcia was deported against a federal judge’s orders on Dec. 23 and has since returned to an immigration facility in Louisiana.

MARYVILLE, Tenn. — A loved one is speaking out after an immigrant from El Salvador, with Maryville ties, was deported five days ago, despite an order from a federal judge forbidding it. 

10News previously reported on 24-year-old Diego Alberto Hernandez Garcia, with his attorney, Rachel Bonano, saying he was wrongfully detained by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency while working at a construction site in Hardin Valley despite having deferred action status valid through 2026.

Racquel Roy, a former teacher of Hernandez Garcia’s, who is also raising his nephews for a family member, spoke to 10News about his case on Sunday morning.

“This is a man who has done nothing wrong, who has always tried to follow the law, and he’s being treated like one of the most hardened criminals in the United States right now,” she said. 

She said she’s spoken with Hernandez Garcia since he was picked up by ICE and sent to an immigration detention facility in Louisiana, and he told her about his experience of being wrongfully deported.

RELATED: Hardin Valley construction worker detained by ICE mistakenly deported to El Salvador, attorney says

“When they landed in El Salvador, they didn’t even let him stand up and get off the plane; they made him sit there and said, ‘Oops, it was an accident, we’re gonna bring you back,'” Roy said.

They also spoke on Christmas, she said, and she asked him what she could do to help him.

“He goes, ‘Honestly, I’d just like to see daylight, and I’d love to have a Bible,'” she said. 

Roy said that Hernandez Garcia has told her that other people he’s detained with are too afraid to speak out, which is why he wants his story to be shared.

“This is not a political issue, this is not a taking sides issue, at this point he has been detained, put in a jail cell, with no explanation at all,” Roy said. 

WBIR has reached out to ICE for information about Hernandez Garcia’s case, but hasn’t heard back.

“I am not going to be afraid to speak out, I want to continue to fight for him and so many other people, immigrants in the United States that are in the same situation,”  Roy said.