A Judge Ordered Her Return After a Wrongful Deportation. Now Comes the Hard Part.

Maria de Jesús Estrada Juárez was wrongfully deported to Mexico in February despite having protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. A California federal judge, Dena Coggins, ruled on March 23 that Estrada Juárez had been removed in "flagrant violation" of her DACA protections. The judge mandated the Trump administration facilitate her return within seven days and restore her DACA benefits as if the deportation had "never occurred." Estrada Juárez was held for about five hours at the US-Mexico border before being allowed back into the United States on March 30, after more than a month in Mexico. Mother and daughter are now waiting for Estrada Juárez’s DACA renewal while appealing the denial of her green card application.