Feds release new details and admit error in deported ‘dreamer’ story

The case of a “dreamer” believed to be the first deported under the Trump administration took another twist Wednesday, as the Department of Homeland Security corrected information about his legal status but then released further details that cast doubt on his claims laid out in a San Diego federal lawsuit.

Homeland Security had said on Tuesday that Juan Manuel Montes Bojorquez, 23, had failed in 2015 to renew his status to legally work and go to school in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. But on Wednesday the agency said a detailed records search found that Montes had renewed his status and was eligible through 2018, the agency said.

Despite the confusion over his DACA status, Homeland Security defended deporting Montes and suggested he was not being truthful.

According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Montes says he was deported twice in February — first after being approached by a border officer in Calexico and again after he admittedly entered the U.S. illegally a day or so later.

Montes said he had been leaving a friend’s house and was walking to a taxi stand in Calexico when he was approached by a bicycle officer. He said he was questioned about his identity, taken to the port of entry and eventually deported. He said he had forgotten his wallet in a friend’s car, which held his work authorization card.

Homeland Security said Wednesday that it has no records of such an encounter or deportation.

“There are no records or evidence to support Montes-Bojorquez’s claim that he was detained or taken to the Calexico Port of Entry on February 18, 2017,” the agency said.

However, there are records of an encounter on Feb. 19, the agency said. Border Patrol agents apprehended Montes as he climbed the border fence in downtown Calexico, and “he admitted to agents that he had illegally entered the United States and was arrested,” DHS said.

DHS said Montes admitted the illegal entry under oath in interviews conducted in Spanish and signed the arrest documents. During the interview, he never mentioned his DACA status, the agency said. But it wouldn’t matter anyway, because DACA rules prohibit participants from leaving the U.S. without advance permission, according to DHS.

“Even if Montes-Bojorquez had informed agents of his DACA status, he had violated the conditions of his status by breaking continuous residency in the United States by leaving and then reentering the U.S. illegally,” the agency said. “Montes-Bojorquez’s Employment Authorization Document is only for employment and is not valid for entry or admission into the United States.”

Montes was deported to Mexico the afternoon of Feb. 20, according to the agency’s records.

Attorneys representing Montes offered their support in light of the government’s new statements and challenged Homeland Security to release documents supporting the assertions. That is the aim of the lawsuit — to compel the release of records under the Federal Freedom of Information Act in Montes’ case.

“Juan Manuel has been unequivocal in his assertion that he never voluntarily left the country while he had DACA. We believe him,” Nora Preciado, a staff attorney with the National Immigration Law Center and co-counsel on the case, said in a statement. “We filed a FOIA lawsuit to get answers. Rather than continue to provide half-truths and varying assertions, DHS should respond to our request for documentation. We will see them in court.”

Co-counsel Mónica Ramírez Almadani, an attorney with Covington & Burling in Los Angeles, added: “The government is providing information to the press, but not to Juan Manuel and his attorneys. We know Juan Manuel was physically removed. We filed this lawsuit to find out how it happened.”

Capitol Hill took notice of the lawsuit this week. Some Democrats demanded answers from immigration officials and blamed President Donald Trump of rescinding promises to help DACA “dreamers” stay in the U.S., while some Republicans applauded the deportation.

MoveOn.org has launched a petition that asks DHS Secretary John Kelly to allow Montes to return to the U.S.

In the lawsuit, Montes said he was confused and scared by what was happening to him. He suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child and was enrolled in special education programs throughout his schooling, according to the lawsuit.

Montes said he first came to the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant as a 9-year-old in 2004.

Officials said Montes returned to Mexico at least once after that. He had his first run-in with border officials when he applied for entry into the U.S. in 2010 as a teenager at the Calexico Port of Entry, officials said. Customs and Border Protection did not offer details about the encounter but said he was “allowed to withdraw his application for admission in lieu of expedited removal” back to Mexico.

He was first granted legal status under DACA in 2014, about two years after the program launched. He then renewed his status after two years, as all participants are required to do.

Montes was convicted of shoplifting in July 2016 and sentenced to probation, according to Homeland Security, although that doesn’t appear to have affected his status. DACA rules prohibit convictions of felonies, significant misdemeanors or three or more misdemeanors.

Before his deportation, he had been working as a farm laborer and was planning on returning to community college to study welding, according to the lawsuit. He is staying with family in Mexico.

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Calexico ‘dreamer’ sues feds after deported to Mexico

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis