In brief
In a heartwarming turn of events, Maria de Jesús Estrada Juárez, who was deported to Mexico under controversial immigration policies, has been given a second chance to reunite with her daughter after a judge ruled in her favor. Estrada Juárez, a DACA recipient for several years, expressed her immense joy and relief at being reunited with her daughter, who struggled emotionally during the separation. Attorney advocates emphasize the need for permanent protections for DACA recipients, highlighting systemic issues in current immigration policies.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California woman who had been living in the U.S. for 27 years before the Trump administration deported her to Mexico in February reunited with her daughter this week after a judge ordered her return.Mexican citizen Maria de Jesús Estrada Juárez was among the hundreds of thousands of people shielded from deportation under an Obama-era program allowing people brought to the U.S. as children to stay in the country if they generally stay out of trouble. But that changed on February 18 when she showed up for an immigration hearing and was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and deported the next day. I didn’t get to say goodbye, the 42-year-old mother said at a news conference Tuesday in Sacramento. It all happened so fast. This has been one of the most painful experiences of my life.Estrada Juárez held hands with her daughter and began to choke up as she recounted those experiences. It’s hard to describe what it feels like to lose your mother so suddenly, especially when you believed she was safe, Damaris Bello, Estrada Juárez’s 22-year-old daughter, said. It was like grieving someone who was still alive.The federal government has deported dozens of recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA, during President Donald Trump’s second term, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Immigrants advocates say Estrada Juárez’s removal highlights the need to offer more permanent protections for DACA recipients, often referred to as 'Dreamers.' U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins issued a temporary restraining order on March 23, giving the federal government seven days to facilitate Estrada Juárez’s return to the U.S. Her deportation was a “flagrant violation” of her DACA protections and infringed upon her due process rights, Coggins wrote.Estrada Juárez, who had felt lost since her deportation, shared how much it meant to be back with her family: You can’t enjoy life when the most important part of your life is not there. Now reunited with her daughter, she hopes to start the healing process after their painful separation.
