Erick Hernandez-Rodriguez mentioned he took the fallacious freeway exit and by accident 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 at the moment 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 tip of the month.
The federal authorities is just not exhibiting any leniency in his case, in accordance with his legal professional Valerie Sigamani. Hernandez-Rodriguez works part-time as an Uber driver and was attempting 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 up 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 mentioned in a press release. “Any unlawful alien who’s a DACA recipient could also be topic to arrest and deportation.”
Sigamani mentioned her consumer’s DACA standing ought to present that Hernandez-Rodriguez had been working within the U.S. and never attempting to sneak in.
“It looks like at this second, there isn’t that a lot mercy in direction of individuals who make errors,” she mentioned. “I might hope that CBP brokers would nonetheless perceive and know that that is an accident, that this particular person didn’t intend to desert their claims, however they’re a great particular person, and so they by accident exited the U.S.”
His story was first reported by NBC Information.
California is dwelling to about 150,000 DACA recipients. The Hernandez-Rodriguez case is the most recent instance of the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration insurance policies.
Forward of his second time period in workplace, Trump mentioned 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 Courtroom dominated in 2020 that his administration had carried out so improperly.
A case that challenges DACA’s legality is anticipated to succeed in the Supreme Courtroom, 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 automobile 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 court docket and supplied to The Instances by his legal professional, Hernandez-Rodriguez mentioned he was working as a rideshare driver on Could 31 and picked up some fares after a soccer recreation led to 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, but it surely was blocked by police resulting from a automobile 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 mentioned in his declaration. “They instructed me that they might assist me so I may 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, and so they let him via one checkpoint. His legal professional mentioned he had an image of his employment authorization doc that legally permits him to work within the U.S.
In line with his declaration, border officers then requested him to park his automobile and go into an workplace to examine in with border officers. They took his fingerprints, Sagamani mentioned, and put Hernandez-Rodriguez in a room with three border officers. One of many officers mentioned he may return into the U.S. if he paid them $800, in accordance with his declaration and his legal professional.
Sagamani mentioned that the officers had been asking for a bribe. Hernandez-Rodriguez mentioned he didn’t have the cash.
“They instructed him, ‘You possibly can name someone and ask them for the cash after which they may give it to us,’” Sigamani mentioned.
When it was clear that he couldn’t pay them, one other official handcuffed him and took him into custody, Sigamani mentioned.
In a press release, McLaughlin mentioned, “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, in accordance with a duplicate of his vacationer visa.
In response to the declare {that a} border official requested Hernandez-Rodriguez for a bribe, McLaughlin mentioned, “CBP takes all allegations of misconduct critically, investigates completely, and holds staff accountable when insurance policies are violated. This matter has been referred to the CBP Workplace of Skilled Accountability (OPR) for evaluate.”
On July 14, an immigration decide ordered Hernandez-Rodriguez to be faraway from the nation after contemplating a reputable concern willpower, a screening course of given to asylum seekers who might face persecution of their dwelling nation based mostly on their race, faith or political opinion. Hernandez-Rodriguez mentioned he’s fearful that he can be singled out for discussing his political views. The court docket thought of testimony and proof submitted, however Sigamani mentioned that her consumer didn’t get to talk with the decide.
“They’re not even letting him see a decide,” Sigamani mentioned. “I believe that’s intentional.”
