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3w ago

ICE Brings Deported DACA Recipient Back to Texas, Then Detains Him

The reversal and detention highlight a confusing, case-by-case approach to DACA under current enforcement.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security seal is displayed in Washington on Jan. 24, 2026.
The main entrance to the Port Isabel Detention Center on Sunday, June 24, 2018. Port Isabel is about 20 miles northwest of Brownsville.
An ICE patch and badge are seen on a Department of Homeland Security agent while US Vice President JD Vance speaks U.S. Vice President JD Vance gives remarks following a roundtable discussion with local leaders and community members amid a surge of federal immigration authorities in the area, at Royalston Square on January 22, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Jose Contreras Diaz speaks on a video call from Honduras on April 14, 2026.

Overview

  • Immigration agents returned José Contreras Diaz to Texas under promised parole and then transferred him to a detention center upon arrival.
  • Contreras Diaz was deported in January after a routine ICE check-in despite having active DACA, and he missed the birth of his son in Texas.
  • His attorney, Stacy Tolchin, challenged the removal and cited a federal judge’s order returning another DACA recipient, after which officials told him he could reenter.
  • DHS says he has a final removal order and reiterates that DACA does not create legal status, offering no public explanation for the about-face or the new detention.
  • The broader landscape has tightened for Dreamers, with DHS reporting 261 arrests and 86 removals in 2025 and the BIA ruling that judges cannot end cases solely because a person holds active DACA.