Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
Advocates, policymakers, and recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) met on Monday to discuss efforts from the Trump administration aimed at weakening the DACA program.
This year, DACA recipient Jose Contreras Diaz of Edinburg, Texas was deported, allowed back, re-arrested, and then released from the Port Isabel Detention Center last week.
Born in Honduras, Diaz’s first steps were on American soil. He spoke at the meeting this week on the growing threats to target, detain and deport DACA recipients and said his nightmare isn’t over.
“Right now, I have to wear an ankle monitor, and in roughly 40 days I have another appointment with Homeland Security. And instead of feeling safe, I prepare for the worst,” said Diaz.
Diaz saw his newborn child for the first time last week after his release. The government acknowledged its mistake with Diaz, granted him parole, and facilitated his flight back to the U.S. Upon his arrival, Jose was then detained again, with no explanation, for more than a week.
Young and undocumented immigrants often called "Dreamers" had to be under the age of 31 on June 15, 2012, had to have arrived in the U.S. before turning 16, and had to have lived in the U.S. since June 15, 2007, to be eligible for DACA. The program grants renewable two-year work authorization but no permanent legal status. As of 2026, the program is technically open only for renewals, with its future subject to ongoing federal court litigation.
DACA status alone does not prevent deportation. On April 24, 2026, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a precedent decision ruling that DACA recipients are not automatically protected from deportation and that immigration judges cannot terminate removal proceedings solely based on DACA status. This ruling more easily allows the Department of Homeland Security to pursue deportation cases against DACA recipients.
Illinois State Representative Jesus "Chuy" Garcia is one of the members of Congress fighting for justice among DACA holders.
"This lawless administration is trying to continue detaining and deporting DACA holders. They're doing everything they can to make life impossible for people with DACA, including creating massive delays in processing renewals," said Garcia.
Since the start of 2025, over 300 DACA recipients have been detained, and over 90 have been deported. The growing detention and deportation of DACA recipients unfolds at the same time they are facing extreme delays in renewing their applications with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS), leading many to lose access to their work permits and DACA status.
Tania Chavez Camacho is executive director of social justice organization La Unión Del Pueblo Entero (LUPE) and says the Rio Grande Valley has become the hotspot for DACA detention cases.
“When you have to go to work, come back and forth through a checkpoint and you are a DACA recipient you are more at risk of getting detained and subsequently deported,” said Camacho.
Juliana Macedo do Nascimento is Deputy Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led network in the country. She said moves by the administration to ramp up deportation of DACA holders are unwarranted attacks on an otherwise legal program.
"It doesn't matter what DHS is saying now. The law is pretty clear. DACA has been reaffirmed over and over again at the courts. It is legal. It is protection. And this should not be happening to people," said Nascimento.
At the meeting, Diaz and Maria de Jesus Estrada both said they were wrongfully detained by ICE and that their lives haven't been the same since. Estrada is the Sacramento mother and DACA recipient who also recently returned to the United States after being deported to Mexico in February 2026. A federal judge later ruled her deportation unlawful, and she successfully returned to the U.S. to reunite with her daughter in March. Her voice breaking while she tried to hold back tears, Estrada spoke for all DACA recipients under threat.
"What happened was not just a mistake. It was an abuse of power that traumatized my family and showed how easily immigrant families can be treated as disposable. For 40 days I was trapped in a country I do not call home while my daughter lived in fear wondering if she will ever see me again. Now we live in fear. Constant fear," said Estrada. "These are not just political talking points or policies on paper. These decisions to destroy families leaves permanent scars on children."
On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin will host a forum on the administration's escalating attacks on DACA recipients.
