Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained JeanCarlos Fiallos Manzanares near his mother's residence in Miami on January 1, 2025. The Trump administration is seeking to deport Manzanares to Honduras.

Manzanares, a long-term recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, is currently held at the Otero County Processing Center in New Mexico. Manzanares stated that ICE agents informed him during his detention that he would no longer qualify for DACA. He was driving with an expired license when ICE agents pulled him over on January 1, 2025.

"I’ve been here 25 years, and nothing ever happened like this. I’ve always been protected by DACA since I got it in 2012," Manzanares said. He added, "If they are going to terminate my DACA, they have to have a reason, like if I had a conviction or a felony. They have rules."

The Trump administration has enacted several policy changes affecting deferred action recipients. The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that deferred action status alone is not sufficient grounds for a judge to halt a deportation. The administration also decided that detained immigrants should remain in jail while their cases proceed and prohibited DACA recipients from obtaining or using commercial driver’s licenses.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson stated, "DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country. Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons, including if they’ve committed a crime." According to the department, hundreds of individuals granted deferred action have been detained since the Trump administration took office. At least 85 of these individuals, without a criminal conviction or pending criminal charge, have been deported.

Janet Napolitano, former secretary of Homeland Security who created the program in 2012, characterized these developments in remarks reported by media outlets. "It’s death by a thousand cuts," Napolitano said. Manzanares originally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border when he was seven years old.

Why It Matters

The detention and attempted deportation of Manzanares, along with other policy changes, indicates a shift in immigration enforcement. These actions affect individuals who previously held deferred action status. The Board of Immigration Appeals' ruling that deferred action alone is not a sufficient basis to halt deportation represents a change in how these cases are adjudicated. Approximately 495,000 people held deferred action status one year after the end of the Biden administration, down from over 533,000 at the end of the Biden administration.

The Trump administration’s immigration program has $240 billion in funding through fiscal year 2029. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services processing times for DACA renewals and work authorizations have increased from an average of 15 days to six months or more.