The Trump administration has reportedly reversed the deportation of a Texas-based immigrant who was removed to Honduras earlier this year despite holding active protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
José Contreras Diaz, 30, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a routine check-in in January and placed into removal proceedings shortly afterward, MS Now reported. He is now expected to return to the United States after federal officials indicated he would be permitted reentry into the country.
Democratic lawmakers and immigration advocates have previously accused the Trump administration of working to weaken the DACA program, with a group of senators saying the government has been "lying to the American people about its treatment of Dreamers."
In a statement to Newsweek, a DHS spokesperson described Contreras Diaz as "an illegal alien from Honduras," adding that DACA did not "confer any form of legal status in this country."
Contreras Diaz arrived in the United States at age 8 and has since lived in the Rio Grande Valley, where he worked in pool maintenance, MS Now reported. He was subject to a removal order issued more than 20 years ago during his childhood, which was not acted on until his deportation in January.
DACA provides "deferred action," not legal status, so recipients remain technically removable under U.S. immigration law.
A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek: "The fact is Jose Contreras Diaz is an illegal alien from Honduras who has a final order of removal from a Department of Justice immigration judge. He chose to remain illegally in the U.S. DACA does NOT confer any form of legal status in this country. The end result will be the same -- he will not be able to remain in the U.S.
"We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return."
DHS announced the DACA program in 2012 under the second Obama administration. It gives certain undocumented people who came to the United States as children temporary protection from deportation and the ability to apply for work authorization.
To qualify, applicants generally must have arrived before age 16, lived continuously in the United States since June 15, 2007, and meet education or military-service requirements. DACA does not provide lawful immigration status or a pathway to citizenship, and recipients must renew their protection periodically.
Because it is discretionary, ICE can still initiate arrest or deportation if DACA is terminated, lapses or is deemed not to apply, including in cases where the recipient has been convicted of certain crimes or is considered a public safety risk. Disputes over removals are generally handled under administrative law, rather than DACA serving as an absolute legal protection from deportation.
DACA recipients are often called Dreamers, after the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. That legislation, which offered many of the same protections as DACA, never passed Congress.
Contreras Diaz said he missed the birth of his son in Texas while detained and deported to Honduras, MS Now reported.
"It really put that wound in my heart," he told the outlet. "It hurt and it broke me. But we get up, you know, we get up and we keep fighting."
His relatives also described significant emotional distress caused by his removal.
"My brother and I are not bad people. We've done everything in our power to be here as legally as we can," His sister Cindy, a nurse, told MS Now. "I devote my life to helping people, and I just want people to understand that we are not harmful in any sort of way."
After Contreras Diaz's removal, Stacy Tolchin, his attorney, disputed the legality of the decision in correspondence with ICE, pointing to a recent federal court ruling in California involving another DACA recipient, Maria Estrada Juarez, where the judge criticized the deportation as a "flagrant violation" of the program's protections.
Following the legal challenge, immigration authorities later notified Contreras Diaz that he would be allowed to reenter the United States, though details about the conditions and legal basis for his return have not been publicly clarified.
As of September 2025, about 505,900 people in the United States had active DACA status, the Migration Policy Institute reported.
According to DHS, between January and November 2025, 261 DACA recipients were arrested, and 86 were removed from the country.
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruled on Friday that immigration judges could not terminate deportation proceedings solely because a person had active DACA status, making it easier for DACA recipients to be deported.
The BIA is an administrative appellate court within the Justice Department, and its published decisions help establish precedent for immigration judges nationwide and influence how immigration law and policy are interpreted.
The case that prompted the ruling involved Catalina "Xóchitl" Santiago, a DACA recipient who was taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection officers while attempting to board a domestic flight at El Paso airport in August. Santiago was placed in removal proceedings following an arrest that prompted immigration enforcement review.
In a joint statement, Democratic Senators Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Alex Padilla of California and Ruben Gallego of Arizona said: "Donald Trump said that Dreamers should 'feel safe,' but every action his government takes weakens the DACA program and threatens the safety and livelihoods of the 500,000 DACA recipients who have only ever known this country as home."