SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) 鈥� A California woman who had been living in the U.S. for 27 years before the Trump administration deported her to Mexico in February reunited with her daughter this week after a judge ordered her return.
Mexican citizen Maria de Jes煤s Estrada Ju谩rez was among the hundreds of thousands of people shielded from deportation under allowing people brought to the U.S. as children to stay in the country if they generally stay out of trouble.
But that changed Feb. 18 when she showed up for an immigration hearing and was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and deported the next day.
鈥淚 didn’t get to say goodbye,” the 42-year-old mother said at a news conference Tuesday in Sacramento. “It all happened so fast. This has been one of the most painful experiences of my life.鈥�
Estrada Ju谩rez held hands with her daughter and began to choke up as she recounted those experiences.
鈥淚t’s hard to describe what it feels like to lose your mother so suddenly, especially when you believed she was safe,” said Damaris Bello, Estrada Ju谩rez’s 22-year-old daughter. “It was like grieving someone who was still alive.鈥�
The federal government has of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA, during President Donald Trump’s second term, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The events come amid the Trump administration’s reshaping of immigration policy more broadly.
Immigration advocates say Estrada Ju谩rez鈥檚 removal highlights the need to offer more permanent protections for DACA recipients, often referred to as 鈥淒reamers.鈥�
The case is a rare example of a judge ordering a person鈥檚 return to the United States after being deported, said Talia Inlender, deputy director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law.
鈥淏ut, perhaps unsurprisingly, it feels like this is happening with more frequency under the current administration which is prioritizing speed and quotas, rather than fairness and process, in facilitating removals,鈥� Inlender said in a statement.
The federal administration said Estrada Ju谩rez was deported because of a 1998 removal order when Estrada Ju谩rez was a teenager, shortly after she arrived in the U.S. She was sent to Mexico at the time but returned to the U.S. weeks later and has had DACA status since 2013. Federal officials reinstated the 1998 order in February after arresting her.
Estrada Ju谩rez spent the next few weeks after being deported with relatives, stressed about being separated from her daughter.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 enjoy life when the most important part of your life is not there,鈥� she said.
U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins, who was appointed by then-President Joe Biden, issued a temporary restraining order on March 23, giving the federal government seven days to facilitate Estrada Ju谩rez’s return to the U.S. Her deportation was a 鈥渇lagrant violation鈥� of her DACA protections and infringed upon her due process rights, Coggins wrote.
The Department of Homeland Security has defended the deportation.
鈥淚CE follows all court orders,鈥� a department spokesperson said in a statement. 鈥淭his is yet another ruling from a Biden-appointed activist judge.”
But Estrada Ju谩rez wasn’t aware of the 1998 order, which her lawyer argues wasn’t final.
鈥淒ACA gives you a vested right to not be deported once it’s granted,鈥� said Stacy Tolchin, an immigration attorney based in Pasadena, California. 鈥淚 really don鈥檛 understand what they鈥檙e doing.鈥�
Bello, who was reunited with her mother Monday night, said she is recovering from the events and hopes other families don’t have to endure the same thing.
鈥淗aving her back home means everything to me,” she said. 鈥淚t means we can begin to heal, to rebuild and to move forward together as a family.鈥�
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
