SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins on March 23, 2026, issued a temporary restraining order giving the federal government seven days to facilitate the return of Maria de Jesús Estrada Juárez to the United States after she was deported to Mexico in February. Estrada Juárez, a longtime recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, returned to her home in Sacramento, California, and reunited with her daughter.

Estrada Juárez, a Mexican citizen, had lived in the United States for 27 years before her deportation. She had held DACA status since 2013. On February 18, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested her at an immigration hearing, and she was deported the following day. Federal officials reinstated a 1998 removal order issued when she was a teenager. She had been sent to Mexico under that order but returned to the United States weeks later.

Judge Coggins, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, wrote that Estrada Juárez's deportation was a "flagrant violation" of her DACA protections and infringed upon her due process rights. DACA shields hundreds of thousands of people brought to the United States as children, often referred to as "Dreamers," and allows them to remain in the country if they meet program requirements.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, "ICE follows all court orders. This is yet another ruling from a Biden-appointed activist judge."

After her deportation, Estrada Juárez stayed with relatives in Mexico for several weeks. She said she was stressed about being separated from her daughter. "It all happened so fast. This has been one of the most painful experiences of my life," Estrada Juárez said.

Talia Inlender, deputy director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law, said the case was a rare example of a judge ordering a person's return to the U.S. after deportation. "But, 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," Inlender said.

During President Donald Trump's second term, the federal government arrested several other DACA recipients. An immigration attorney said that DACA grants recipients a vested right not to be deported once it is granted.