Judge orders DACA return
A U.S. district judge ordered the government to return a DACA recipient deported to Mexico in February, calling the removal a “flagrant violation” of DACA protections and giving the government one week to facilitate the return. The ruling is being treated as an extreme‑circumstance intervention and could influence other wrongful‑removal claims. (politico.com)
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, 42, was detained at a USCIS adjustment-of-status interview in Sacramento on Feb. 18 and deported to Mexico the following day, despite holding DACA since 2013 and living in the U.S. since 1998. (politico.com) U.S. District Judge Dena M. Coggins—confirmed to the Eastern District of California on May 22, 2024—issued a written ruling that characterizes the government’s actions as contrary to DACA’s regulatory protections and set a firm date for remediation. (fjc.gov) Plaintiffs’ counsel Stacy Tolchin filed the federal complaint in early March in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California seeking emergency relief and argued Estrada Juarez was removed without notice of a lawful removal order or an opportunity to appear before an immigration judge. (abc10.com) The government relied on a purported reinstatement of a 1998 expedited-removal order, while Tolchin contended the decades-old order lacked supervisory approval and was never finalized, undermining DHS’s basis for removal. (motherjones.com) Coggins framed her injunctive relief under established “extreme‑circumstance” authority, citing the Supreme Court’s 2020 DACA decision to treat the program as one that confers affirmative relief rather than mere enforcement discretion. (politico.com) Tolchin’s firm identifies her as a long-practicing immigration attorney and issued the public statement asserting Estrada Juarez’s deportation violated due process while calling for immediate reunification with her U.S. citizen daughter. (tolchinimmigration.com)
