Human Rights

First DREAMer To Be Deported Sues Trump Administration

A 23-year-old DREAMer was the first person protected under DACA to be deported. He'd lived in the U.S. since he was 9.

First DREAMer To Be Deported Sues Trump Administration
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An undocumented immigrant protected from removal by a law President Trump assured voters he would stand by has been deported back to Mexico, according to USA Today.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents deported 23-year-old Juan Manuel Montes after he was unable to prove his protection under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. 

Montes has lived in the U.S. since age 9. He was deported Feb. 17 after officers didn't let him retrieve his identification, which showed he had protection under DACA. 

"DACA is a very, very difficult subject for me," the president told reporters at a press conference in February. "You have these incredible kids, in many cases, not in all cases — in some of the cases, they're having DACA and are gang members and are drug dealers, too — but you have some absolutely incredible kids. ... We are gonna deal with DACA with heart," he said.

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Over 700 Immigration Detainees Went On A Hunger Strike

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Montes has a record: three traffic violations and a shoplifting charge. That shouldn't have been enough to disqualify him from DACA protections, according to USA Today. 

Since his deportation, Montes, along with the National Immigration Law Center, has filed a suit against the Trump administration.