Judge Orders Trump Administration to Return Illegally Deported DACA Recipient Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez to U.S.
U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins ruled that DACA recipient Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez was removed to Mexico in a "flagrant violation" of her DACA protections and due process, ordering the federal government to facilitate her return within seven days and to restore all rights and benefits attached to her DACA status. Coggins rejected the government's jurisdictional defense that Estrada Juarez should have sought emergency relief and relied in part on precedent from litigation over Kilmar Abrego Garciaâwhere courts ordered remedies after alleged unlawful removals amid the administrationâs deportation effortsâto require the government to remedy the removal.
đ Key Facts
- U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued a new temporary order blocking the Trump administrationâs plan to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia and kept in place prior Xinis orders barring DHS from reâdetaining him and deporting him to a third country.
- DOJ/DHS filings and an ICE declaration say Liberiaâs government is willing to accept Abrego Garcia, ICE could arrange a charter and remove him in roughly five days once Xinis lifts her order, and ICE asked the court to rule on the motion by April 17, saying removal would be âimminent.â
- ICE Director Todd Lyonsâ filing says DHS plans to disregard Abregoâs request for removal to Costa Rica and instead remove him to Liberia, arguing the statute does not allow new country designations years after the original 2019 hearing, and warning that abandoning negotiations with Liberia could âcast doubt on the diplomatic reliability of the United States.â
- Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March 2025 in violation of a 2019 immigration judgeâs order that barred his return because of persecution threats; he was returned to the U.S. to face humanâsmuggling charges he denies and had been slated for the CECOT megaâprison.
- U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins ruled that DACA recipient Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez was removed to Mexico in a âflagrant violationâ of her DACA protections and dueâprocess rights, and ordered the federal government to facilitate her return within seven days and to restore all rights and benefits attached to her DACA status.
- Estrada Juarez was detained and deported less than 24 hours after appearing in good faith at a hearing to pursue lawful permanent resident status, based on an old removal order purportedly entered when she was 15.
- The government argued the court lacked jurisdiction and faulted Estrada Juarez for not securing emergency relief in the roughly 20 hours between detention and removal; Judge Coggins rejected that defense as effectively permitting the government to violate rights by acting quickly and relied in part on precedent from the Abrego Garcia litigation, in which courts ordered the government to remedy an unlawful removal by facilitating return.
đ° Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
March 24, 2026
4:04 PM
âFlagrant violationâ: Judge orders return of illegally removed DACA recipient
New information:
- U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins ruled that DACA recipient Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez was removed to Mexico in 'flagrant violation' of her DACA protections and due process rights.
- Coggins ordered the federal government to facilitate Estrada Juarezâs return to the United States within seven days and to restore all rights and benefits attached to her DACA status.
- Estrada Juarez was detained and deported less than 24 hours after appearing in good faith at a hearing to pursue lawful permanent resident status, based on an old order purportedly entered when she was 15.
- The government argued the court lacked jurisdiction and faulted Estrada Juarez for not securing emergency relief in the roughly 20 hours between detention and removal; the judge rejected that argument as effectively claiming the government can violate rights if it acts quickly.
- Coggins relied in part on precedent from Kilmar Abrego Garciaâs case, in which courts previously ordered the government to remedy an unlawful removal by facilitating his return.
March 23, 2026
4:26 PM
Judge blocks Trump from deporting Abrego Garcia to Liberia, extending legal standoff
New information:
- U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued a new temporary order Monday blocking the Trump administrationâs plan to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia.
- The order explicitly keeps in place two prior Xinis orders that bar DHS from reâdetaining Abrego Garcia and deporting him to a third country.
- ICE Director Todd Lyonsâ Friday filing told the court that DHS had decided to disregard Abregoâs request for removal to Costa Rica and instead planned a swift removal to Liberia, arguing the statute does not allow new country designations years after the original 2019 hearing.
- Lyons warned that abandoning removal negotiations with Liberia over Abrego could "cast doubt on the diplomatic reliability of the United States."
- The article reiterates that an immigration judge in 2019 barred Abregoâs return to El Salvador because of persecution threats, and that DHS previously deported him there in 2025 in violation of that order, which Trump officials now concede was an "administrative error."
March 22, 2026
3:35 PM
Trump administration says it is ready to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia
New information:
- DOJ/DHS filings state that Liberiaâs government remains willing to accept Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
- An ICE officialâs declaration says ICE could arrange a charter plane and remove Abrego Garcia to Liberia in roughly five days once Judge Paula Xinis lifts her order.
- The filing quotes ICE as being âconfident that Mr. Abrego Garciaâs removal would be imminentâ and asks Judge Xinis to rule on the motion by April 17.
- The article reiterates that Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March 2025 in violation of a 2019 order and was slated for CECOT megaâprison before being returned to the U.S. to face humanâsmuggling charges he denies as vindictive.