Federal Judge Orders Return of Illegally Deported DACA Recipient

U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins has ordered the Trump administration to return DACA recipient Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez to the United States within seven days after finding that immigration authorities deported her to Mexico last month in 'flagrant violation' of her DACA protections and due process rights. Estrada Juarez, who had lived in Sacramento for 27 years and was seeking lawful permanent resident status, was detained after a hearing and removed less than 24 hours later based on an order allegedly entered when she was 15, despite her active DACA status that should have shielded her from detention or removal. The Justice Department argued the court lacked jurisdiction and blamed Estrada Juarez for not securing emergency relief in the roughly 20 hours between her detention and deportation, an argument Coggins rejected as effectively claiming the government may violate rights so long as it acts fast. The judge ordered that all rights and benefits tied to Estrada Juarez’s DACA status be restored and cited 'unimaginable irreparable harm' to her and her U.S.-citizen daughter, while grounding her authority in Ninth Circuit precedent allowing courts to intervene in 'extreme circumstances' and in the Supreme Court–backed precedent of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s unlawful removal. The ruling adds to evidence that courts are encountering a pattern of unlawful deportations in Trump’s second term and are increasingly willing to order the government to physically undo removals when agencies ignore statutory and constitutional limits.