Judge: DREAMer may return to fight deportation
Ruling could come as soon as next week
A federal judge said Wednesday he will rule as soon as next week whether to allow the first DREAMer deported under the Trump administration to return to the USA to argue his case that border agents ousted him illegally.
U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel indicated Tuesday that he would allow Juan Manuel Montes, 23, to return to Southern California to testify in a trial that will determine whether he voluntarily left the country or was improperly expelled in February.
Wednesday, lawyers for Montes and the U.S. government told Curiel they couldn’t be ready for a trial until December.
Justice Department attorney Aaron Goldsmith suggested allowing Montes to return to the USA the day of the trial. Montes’ attorneys argued they needed more time to confer with Montes and prepare him for a federal trial, which they said is complicated because he suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child.
“I’m not aiming to deny either the plaintiff or the government their right to fully and fairly prepare for trial,” Curiel said. “Given FaceTime and Skype and different forms of videoconferencing, the plaintiffs would be able to prepare for the trial without Mr. Montes being present.”
The core dispute is what happened on the night of Feb. 19.
Montes, who entered the USA illegally with his family at age 9, claims he was deported by overzealous Border Patrol agents who detained him outside a restaurant in his hometown of Calexico, Calif. He contends they ignored the fact that he was enrolled in a government program that allows nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the USA as minors — DREAMers — to avoid deportation.
The Trump administration says it has no record of Montes’ deportation on that date. It claims he crossed the border voluntarily, forfeiting his protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.
Both sides agree that Montes subsequently tried to re-enter the USA by jumping the border wall. He was captured by Border Patrol agents and deported to Mexico.
Curiel said that if Montes’ version is true, his forced removal may have violated Montes’ rights, but if the government proves its account, Montes cannot remain in the USA because DACA enrollees must have permission to leave the country.
The DACA program was started by President Obama and continued by President Trump.
It grants two-year stays for undocumented immigrants brought to the USA before their 16th birthday who have attended school or joined the military and have not committed any serious crimes. It also grants them work permits.
A team of attorneys representing Montes filed declarations from witnesses who backed up Montes’ story. In an initial court hearing Tuesday, an attorney told Curiel that Montes was struggling to adapt to life in Mexico.
In court papers, Border Patrol agents said Montes’ claim that he was first detained by a Border Patrol agent riding a bicycle cannot be true because their records show no agents patrolling the area that night.