Trump's America seems to be full of fake news—but most of it comes from him. For the first time since the inception of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a recipent, or dreamer, was deported to back to his country of origin. A lawsuit was filed Tuesday on his behalf is disputing his deportation, according to The Washington Post.
Juan Manuel Montes, 23, was coming back from visiting his girlfriend on the evening of Feb. 17 when he was allegedly stopped by California’s Border Patrol. He says he was asked for his ID, which displayed his dreamer status, but he realized he had left it in his friend’s car. He was subsequently detained by Border Patrol and deported to Mexico, all within a three-hour time frame, according to his lawyers.
The lawsuit alleges that agents didn't allow Montes to get his documents or even see a judge to dispute his deportation. On Feb. 19, Montes was caught trying to re-enter the country but was deported immediately afterward. Montes, who was brought to the United States at the age of 9, was first granted dreamer status in 2014 and had renewed it until 2018, according to his lawyers, NBC reports. But the Department of Homeland Security told BuzzFeed News that Montes lost his dreamer protection when he tried to illegally enter the U.S. from Mexico on Feb. 19—and they say he left the U.S. to go to Mexico of his own volition, not because he was deported. Montes' lawyers have tried to request information from the government about his deportation, but they have not been successful.
The deportation has garnered criticism from both parties. California Representative Nancy Pelosi released a statement Tuesday regarding the matter. In it, she called Montes’ deportation "another promise cruelly broken by President Trump," and rebuked the action as both a shame and a disgrace. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine called the accusation troubling and contradictory.
The DACA program helps immigrant children who were brought to the United States illegally by their parents. It was implemented in 2012 by President Barack Obama. The program doesn't provide status legal status or a path to citizenship, but it does decrease the dreamers' chances of deportation.
While the DACA program is still intact, many fear it no longer provides the protection it once did now that Trump is president. Two dreamers were just recently released after spending weeks in ICE custody, according to NPR.
It is unclear at this time when proceedings will begin in this matter.