In February of this year, Customs and Border Patrol detained and deported a 23-year-old man that had active Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. The man is named Juan Manuel Montes and he is the first known person with DACA protection to be deported under the Trump administration. According to Montes, was walking through the streets of Calexico, California when a Border Patrol agent stopped him and asked him for identification, which Montes did not have on him at the time because he had forgotten to carry his wallet. Montes claims that the Border Patrol made him sign papers without giving him copies, they did not let him see a lawyer, or see judge. Montes stated,

I was forced out because I was nervous and didn’t know what to do or say, but my home is there [the U.S.]. I miss my job. I miss school. And I want to continue to work toward better opportunities. But most of all, I miss my family, and I have hope that I will be able to go back so I can be with them again.

After Montes was deported to Mexico, he said that he was attacked by two men, a day or two later, and he decided to cross back into the U.S. because he feared for his safety in Mexico, where had not been since he was 9-years-old.

However, Customs and Border Patrol claims that Montes’ DACA status had expired in August 2015 and that Montes had a conviction for theft. After crossing into the U.S., Montes was deported to Mexico again. According to USA Today,

Montes has multiple convictions ― three for driving without a license and one for shoplifting ― but his record doesn’t make him ineligible for DACA

Montes is being represented by lawyers at the National Immigration Law Center and several private law firms and a formal complaint has been made in the U.S. District Court in California to resolve his issues.

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