Jessica Treviño, a mother from Texas, has filed a lawsuit after being deported to Mexico despite having legal permission to remain in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA. The federal government intends to terminate her permission due to ‘unauthorized travel.’
Treviño, along with her husband, was arrested in December after federal agents approached them in a Home Depot parking lot in South Texas. Both were deported and are currently residing in Matamoros, Mexico. Their three children, who are U.S. citizens, stay with family near the border in the United States.
Treviño, who arrived in the U.S. at age 7, was granted DACA status at 20. While DACA does not offer legal status, it provides temporary permission to remain and work in the U.S. for many who arrived as children. DACA recipients must not travel outside the U.S. and maintain a clean criminal record.
Her attorney, David Rozas, filed the lawsuit, highlighting her valid DACA status, authorized until April 2027. Last week, Treviño received a notice from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services about the intent to terminate her status due to ‘unauthorized travel’ dated March 25, 2026, coinciding with her deportation.
The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to inquiries regarding the situation. Rozas seeks a federal judge’s intervention in Brownsville to declare Treviño’s removal unlawful, facilitate her return to the U.S., and keep her DACA status intact.
An immigration judge under the Justice Department had initially issued a voluntary departure order for Treviño while she was in ICE custody. However, her valid DACA status should have prevented deportation by the Department of Homeland Security.
Treviño expressed a strong desire to return home, where her three children are about to start school. The Trump administration has deported 86 DACA recipients and arrested 241 others, according to a letter from the Department of Homeland Security sent to Senator Richard J. Durbin.
Advocates argue that Treviño’s deportation exemplifies a pattern targeting DACA recipients. Todd Schulte, president of FWD.us, criticized the trend as a deliberate effort to dismantle DACA, leaving children without their parents. The situation remains unresolved as Treviño awaits judicial intervention.
This article corrects the previous report of Treviño’s arrival age and DACA status timeline.