'This is my home,' says DACA recipient deported then returned to U.S.

[0:00] Well, in addition to clamping down on the number of immigrants being let into the U.S., [0:04] the Department of Homeland Security says it deported more than 675,000 people in the first [0:11] year of Trump's second term. Although the administration claims to be targeting violent [0:15] criminals, others continue to be caught up in the crackdown, including some who are protected [0:20] from deportation. Les Landers spoke recently with one woman who was detained, deported, [0:26] and then allowed to come back into the United States. Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez entered [0:32] the United States at 15 years old and has lived in the U.S. for 27 years. She was a recipient of a [0:39] deferred action program established under President Obama that protects certain undocumented individuals [0:44] from deportation if they came to the U.S. as children and do not have a criminal record. [0:49] Maria was on her way to citizenship with a family petition through her U.S. citizen daughter, [0:54] but on February 18th, she was detained at her green card appointment and deported to Mexico [1:00] within 24 hours. A judge ruled her deportation was illegal and ordered her return on March 23rd. [1:07] She joins us now from her home in California. Maria, thank you for joining us this afternoon. [1:13] You're welcome. Thank you for having me. [1:15] So, like many others, you were arrested by ICE at a normal U.S. CIS appointment that you were at [1:21] trying to get your green card through your U.S. citizen daughter. Can you describe what happened that day? [1:29] We showed up to the appointment at USCIS in Sacramento. We walk into the office. We have my [1:35] interview. At the end of my interview, the agent, the interview agent asked, told me that he needed to [1:44] speak to his supervisor. And as soon as I know, they knocked on the door and I got arrested. And I was [1:52] told that I was being detained and I was going to get deported back to Mexico. [1:57] Did they handcuff you? Were they polite? How did they treat you during that moment? [2:04] They did handcuff me. They handcuffed me in front of my daughter. Never feel so humiliated in my life, [2:10] being treated as a criminal that I'm not. I don't think nobody should ever be treated that way, [2:19] especially when you're not doing anything wrong. That is one of the topics that really gets to me. [2:30] Officer agents, they were referring to us that we're picking this, like we're not human beings, [2:37] that we're things, that we're items, we're numbers. That is something that I think is going to take a [2:50] little time to kill. What was that moment like when you realized you were going to be separated [2:58] from your daughter? My daughter to me is everything. She is who keeps me going every day. [3:06] I am the head of household for her. So knowing the fact that I am her go-to for any situations that [3:14] she encounter, that is really, that was really not a pleasant moment. It was very devastating. [3:24] It was really hopeless. And knowing that my daughter was going to be struggling now, [3:34] trying to even survive at that point, you know? [3:38] You had active DACA status and no criminal record. We reached out to the Department of Homeland Security [3:44] for a statement and a spokesperson said, quote, [3:47] DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country. Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient [3:53] may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons, including if they've committed [3:59] a crime. How do you respond to that? And why do you think you were deported? [4:04] I know that the deferred action DACA, it protects people that they brought into the country when there [4:12] were children for deportation. That's what the DACA program was created for. [4:17] You remained in Mexico for more than a month. What was that time period like? [4:23] There was moments that I feel like I couldn't breathe. I feel like I was losing my strength. [4:30] But just thinking that my daughter was fighting for me and doing everything that she could for [4:38] me to come back home gave me hope and kept me going. [4:42] That judge ruled that your deportation was illegal and ordered your return to the United States. [4:48] What was your reaction when you heard that news? [4:51] I was excited. I was happy. Everything paid off. You know, my daughter's sacrifice, [4:56] my daughter's hard work. I feel like justice was made and that coming home was, you know, [5:04] was a relief. [5:06] You are a rare case of someone who was deported but then told that you were wrongfully deported [5:12] and then ordered back. Can you explain the final order of removal that you apparently [5:19] had back in the 90s that you didn't know about? It seems like that is the reason why you were able [5:25] to come back because that was not formally signed. Can you sort of explain what happened there? [5:31] In order for the final removals, they have to be signed by a supervisor, which [5:36] my final removal didn't have that signature for what my understanding is. And that's the reason why [5:42] it was one of the discrepancies that they were in my case. [5:47] You are now back together with your daughter. Is life getting back to normal? [5:52] Definitely not. That is something that I don't think it's going to happen for a minute. [5:58] I'm going to say there's a lot of trauma after. There's a lot of insecurity, especially for my [6:06] daughter. You know, she's afraid of her mom being taken away. I think it's going to take some time [6:12] to trust the system again because I always trust the system. I always follow the system. I always [6:21] wanted to make sure I do things the right way. Somehow, you know, it ended up being too, [6:27] you know, not as I expected. But I think that's going to be part of the healing process to trust [6:37] again. What does being an American mean to you? This is my home. I've been in this country for 27 [6:46] years. I went to school. I worked. I built my community here. So it means everything, you know, [6:54] especially because my daughter's here. My daughter's here and my life is my daughter. And she calls the [7:03] U.S. home. So that's my home, too. Maria, thank you for sharing your story. I appreciate it. [7:10] Thank you very much. Thank you, guys. Support journalism you trust. Support PBS News. [7:29] Donate now or even better, start a monthly contribution today.