Amna Nawaz:
Well, in addition to clamping down on the number of immigrants being let into the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security says it deported more than 675,000 people in the first year of Trump’s second term.
Although the administration claims to be targeting violent criminals, others continue to be caught up in the crackdown, including some who are protected from deportation.
Liz Landers spoke recently with one woman who was detained, deported, and then allowed to come back into the United States.
Liz Landers:
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez entered the United States at 15 years old and has lived in the U.S. for 27 years. She was a recipient of a deferred action program established under President Obama that protects certain undocumented individuals from deportation if they came to the U.S. as children and do not have a criminal record.
Maria was on her way to citizenship with a family petition through her U.S. citizen daughter, but, on February 18, she was detained at her green card appointment and deported to Mexico within 24 hours. A judge ruled her deportation was illegal and ordered her return on March 23.
She joins us now from her home in California.
Maria, thank you for joining us this afternoon.
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, Detained and Deported by ICE:
You’re welcome. Thank you for having me.
Liz Landers:
So, like many others, you were arrested by ICE at a normal USCIS appointment that you were at trying to get your green card through your U.S. citizen daughter. Can you describe what happened that day?
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez:
We showed up to the appointment at USCIS at Sacramento. We walk into the office. We had my interview.
At the end of my interview, the agent, the interview agent asked — told me that he needed to speak to his supervisor. And sooner than I know, they knocked on the door and I got arrested. And I was told that I was being detained and I was going to get deported back to Mexico.
Liz Landers:
Did they handcuff you? Were they polite? How did they treat you during that moment?
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez:
They did handcuff me. They handcuffed me in front of my daughter. Never felt so humiliated in my life, being treated as the criminal that I’m not.
I don’t think nobody should ever be treated that way, especially when you’re not doing anything wrong. That is one of the topics that really gets to me. Officers, agents, they were referring to us that we’re picking this, like we’re not human beings, that we’re things, that we’re items, we’re numbers.
That is something that I think is going to take a lot of time to heal.
Liz Landers:
What was that moment like when you realized you were going to be separated from your daughter?
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez:
My daughter, to me, is everything. She is who keeps me going every day. I am the head of household for her. So, knowing the fact that I am her go-to for any — any situations that she encounter, that is really — that was really not a pleasant moment.
It was very devastating. It was really hopeless, and knowing that my daughter was going to be struggling now trying to even survive at that point, you know?
Liz Landers:
You had active DACA status and no criminal record.
We reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for a statement. And the spokesperson said — quote — “DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country. Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons, including if they have committed a crime.”
How do you respond to that? And why do you think you were deported?
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez:
I know that the Deferred Action, DACA, it protects people that were brought into the country when they were children for deportation. That’s what the DACA program was created for.
Liz Landers:
You remained in Mexico for more than a month. What was that time period like?
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez:
There was moments that I feel like I couldn’t breathe. I feel like I was losing my strength.
But just thinking that my daughter was fighting for me and doing everything that she could for me to come back home gave me hope and kept me going.
Liz Landers:
That judge ruled that your deportation was illegal and ordered your return to the United States. What was your reaction when you heard that news?
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez:
I was excited. I was happy. Everything paid off, my daughter’s sacrifice, my daughter’s hard work. I feel like justice was made and that coming home was relief.
Liz Landers:
You are a rare case of someone who was deported, but then told that you were wrongfully deported and then ordered back.
Can you explain the final order of removal that you apparently had back in the ’90s that you didn’t know about? It seems like that is the reason why you were able to come back, because that was not formally signed. Can you sort of explain what happened there?
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez:
In order for the final removal orders, they have to be signed by a supervisor, which my final removal didn’t have that signature, for what my understanding is. And that’s the reason why it was — it was one of the discrepancies that there were in my case.
Liz Landers:
You are now back together with your daughter. Is life getting back to normal?
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez:
Definitely not.
That is something that I don’t think it’s going to happen for a minute. I’m going to say there’s a lot of trauma after. There’s a lot of insecurity, especially from my daughter. She’s afraid of her mom being taken away. I think it’s going to take some time to trust the system again, because I always trust the system.
I always followed the system. I always wanted to make sure I do things the right way. Somehow, it ended up being to — not as I expected. But I think that’s going to be part of the healing process to trust again.
Liz Landers:
What does being an American mean to you?
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez:
This is my home. I have been in this country for 27 years.
I went to school, I worked, I built my community here. So it means everything, especially cause my daughter’s here. My daughter’s here. And my life is my daughter, and she calls the U.S. home, so that’s my home too.
Liz Landers:
Maria, thank you for sharing your story. I appreciate it.
Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez:
Thank you very much. Thank you guys.
