Jessica Treviño asked a US federal judge in July to order her return from Mexico and keep her protection under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in effect. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency that administers the program, cited unauthorized travel on March 25, 2026, the same day the US Department of Homeland Security deported her.

The Associated Press reported that Treviño's lawyer filed the petition in Brownsville, Texas, seeking a declaration that the removal was unlawful, government assistance for her return and continued DACA protection. The court had not decided those requests when the report was published.

A removal became the stated basis for termination

Federal agents arrested Treviño and her husband in a Home Depot parking lot in South Texas in December 2025. An immigration judge issued Treviño a voluntary departure order in February while she was held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security agency responsible for immigration detention and removals.

USCIS later sent Treviño a notice of intent to terminate her DACA grant for “unauthorized travel outside of the United States on or about March 25, 2026.” Her lawyer said her DACA grant and employment authorization had been approved through April 2027. The proposed termination therefore rests on travel that resulted from the government's own removal action, a sequence her petition asks the court to review.

A hearing room arranged for immigration proceedings (illustrative image)
DACA decisions and removal proceedings are handled by different parts of the US government. (Illustrative image) Photo by Boko Shots on Pexels

The parties dispute whether she accepted departure

The US Department of Homeland Security told the Associated Press that Treviño knowingly accepted voluntary departure and waived an appeal. The department said she left the United States on March 25 and would not return. Treviño told the news agency that she did not sign forms at the detention facility and did not want to be deported.

Those conflicting accounts are central to the case, but neither establishes the legal outcome. Treviño's petition asks the court to find that the government lacked a lawful basis to remove her. APPI News could not independently review the petition or USCIS notice, and no judgment resolving the dispute was available at the time of writing.

DACA provides temporary protection, not immigration status

DACA allows certain people brought to the United States as children to request a temporary exercise of prosecutorial discretion that defers removal. A grant may also support employment authorization, but it does not itself confer lawful immigration status or guarantee admission to the United States.

US federal regulations state that unauthorized travel outside the country on or after August 15, 2012, interrupts the continuous-residence requirement for DACA. The rules also leave the final decision to USCIS on a case-by-case basis. Treviño's case raises a narrower question: how that travel rule applies when the departure was carried out by the government and the recipient contests that she accepted it.

Three US-citizen children remain across the border

Treviño and her husband were living in Matamoros, Mexico, across the border from Brownsville, after both were deported. Their three children, all US citizens, remained with relatives on the US side and were due to begin school in August.

The Associated Press also cited a February 2026 Department of Homeland Security letter saying the Trump administration had deported 86 DACA recipients and arrested 241. The figures predate Treviño's March deportation and do not show how many cases involved disputed travel or active grants, so they cannot establish how frequently circumstances like hers occur.

Frequently asked questions

Why did USCIS move to end Treviño's DACA protection?
The agency's notice cited unauthorized travel on or about March 25, 2026. That was the date the Department of Homeland Security deported her to Mexico.

Did Treviño agree to leave the United States?
The parties disagree. The Department of Homeland Security said she accepted voluntary departure and waived an appeal. Treviño said she signed no forms at the detention facility and did not want to be deported.

Has a court found the deportation unlawful?
No ruling was available when the case was reported. Her lawyer asked a federal judge to declare the removal unlawful, facilitate her return and keep her DACA grant valid.

Does DACA give a recipient lawful immigration status?
No. It is a temporary, discretionary deferral of removal. Recipients may obtain employment authorization, but DACA does not itself create lawful immigration status.