Erick Hernandez-Rodriguez stated he took the unsuitable freeway exit and unintentionally crossed over into Mexico from San Diego.
Now the U.S. authorities says he “self-deported” and illegally tried to re-enter the U.S. He has been detained and is slated for deportation to El Salvador, a rustic he has not lived in since he was 14. Hernandez-Rodriguez, 34, was within the U.S. below the Deferred Motion for Childhood Arrival program, or DACA, which grants work permits and deportation protections to sure immigrants dropped at the U.S. as youngsters.
However Hernandez-Rodriguez is presently in a detention facility in Otay Mesa, slated for expedited elimination. His spouse is anticipated to provide beginning in California to their second baby earlier than the top of the month.
The federal authorities isn’t displaying any leniency in his case, based on his lawyer Valerie Sigamani. Hernandez-Rodriguez works part-time as an Uber driver and was making an attempt to drop off a passenger close to the border however missed his exit. He then drove into Mexico, however when he tried to circle again into California, he was arrested.
Sigamani estimates he was out of the U.S. for lower than half-hour.
Hernandez-Rodriguez’s standing below DACA supplied some safety to undocumented immigrants prior to now, however that has modified below the Trump administration.
“DACA doesn’t confer any type of authorized standing on this nation,” Division of Homeland Safety Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated in a press release. “Any unlawful alien who’s a DACA recipient could also be topic to arrest and deportation.”
Sigamani stated her shopper’s DACA standing ought to present that Hernandez-Rodriguez had been working within the U.S. and never making an attempt to sneak in.
“It looks like at this second, there isn’t that a lot mercy in the direction of individuals who make errors,” she stated. “I’d hope that CBP brokers would nonetheless perceive and know that that is an accident, that this individual didn’t intend to desert their claims, however they’re individual, they usually unintentionally exited the U.S.”
His story was first reported by NBC Information.
California is residence to about 150,000 DACA recipients. The Hernandez-Rodriguez case is the newest instance of the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration insurance policies.
Forward of his second time period in workplace, Trump stated he would “work with Democrats on a plan” to assist DACA recipients stay within the nation. However as soon as elected president, Trump shortly moved to finish DACA. This system narrowly survived when the Supreme Court docket dominated in 2020 that his administration had finished so improperly.
A case that challenges DACA’s legality is anticipated to succeed in the Supreme Court docket, the place some authorized consultants predict the conservative majority might strike it down.
In early June, Javier Diaz Santana, 32, one other DACA recipient, was detained whereas working at a automotive wash. Regardless of explaining his state of affairs, he was taken to a federal detention facility in Texas and granted bond by an immigration decide.
In a handwritten declaration to the courtroom and supplied to The Instances by his lawyer, Hernandez-Rodriguez stated he was working as a rideshare driver on Could 31 and picked up some fares after a soccer sport resulted in Los Angeles. He adopted his GPS instructions and it instructed him he was approaching his exit from the freeway, however he missed it. He tried to get off on the subsequent exit, however it was blocked by police because of a automotive accident.
He thought he would have one other likelihood to show round, however then he was in line to cross the U.S./Mexico border in San Ysidro.
“I requested some Mexican officers and I defined to them what had occurred,” Hernandez-Rodriguez stated in his declaration. “They instructed me that they’d assist me so I might get again in.”
The officers directed him to the border, however he nonetheless was misplaced. He spoke to American officers on the border and confirmed them his DACA documentation, they usually let him via one checkpoint. His lawyer stated he had an image of his employment authorization doc that legally permits him to work within the U.S.
In keeping with his declaration, border officers then requested him to park his automotive and go into an workplace to test in with border officers. They took his fingerprints, Sagamani stated, and put Hernandez-Rodriguez in a room with three border officers. One of many officers stated he might return into the U.S. if he paid them $800, based on his declaration and his lawyer.
Sagamani stated that the officers had been asking for a bribe. Hernandez-Rodriguez stated he didn’t have the cash.
“They instructed him, ‘You’ll be able to name anyone and ask them for the cash after which they can provide it to us,’” Sigamani stated.
When it was clear that he couldn’t pay them, one other official handcuffed him and took him into custody, Sigamani stated.
In a press release, McLaughlin stated, “Erick Hernandez Rodriguez, an unlawful alien from Mexico, self-deported after which tried to illegally re-enter the U.S. On June 1, 2025, CBP officers arrested Rodriguez as he tried to illegally cross the southern border.”
Hernandez-Rodriguez is initially from El Salvador, not Mexico, based on a replica of his vacationer visa.
In response to the declare {that a} border official requested Hernandez-Rodriguez for a bribe, McLaughlin stated, “CBP takes all allegations of misconduct severely, investigates totally, and holds staff accountable when insurance policies are violated. This matter has been referred to the CBP Workplace of Skilled Duty (OPR) for evaluation.”
On July 14, an immigration decide ordered Hernandez-Rodriguez to be faraway from the nation after contemplating a reputable worry dedication, a screening course of given to asylum seekers who might face persecution of their residence nation based mostly on their race, faith or political opinion. Hernandez-Rodriguez stated he’s nervous that he will likely be singled out for discussing his political views. The courtroom thought of testimony and proof submitted, however Sigamani stated that her shopper didn’t get to talk with the decide.
“They’re not even letting him see a decide,” Sigamani stated. “I believe that’s intentional.”
