The same judge Donald Trump decried last year as "very hostile" and "a total disgrace" is set to hear the case of a 23-year-old Mexican man and DACA recipient who claims he was unlawfully expelled earlier this year by U.S. immigration agents. The AP writes:
Juan Manuel Montes, 23, is the first known recipient of the five-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to be deported by the Trump administration, according to supporters. The administration says Montes left the United States voluntarily, causing him to forfeit his protected status.
U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel will hear arguments Tuesday, nearly five months after he approved a settlement for Mr. Trump to pay $25 million to end lawsuits alleging fraud at his now-defunct Trump University. As the Republican presidential front-runner last year, Mr. Trump suggested that the Indiana-born jurist's Mexican heritage prevented him from being impartial.
The case hinges on the events of Feb. 18 when Montes says he was detained for questioning by federal agents in Calexico, California, after he couldn't produce identification. Montes, who was originally approved for DACA in 2014 and got a two-year renewal in 2016, says the agents forced him into Mexico without paperwork.
Both sides agree on what happened next: Montes tried to return to the United States the following night by jumping the border fence in Calexico, was caught by Border Patrol agents and deported to Mexico.
The Department of Homeland Security said it has no record that authorities deported Montes two nights earlier and insists that he crossed into Mexico voluntarily, causing him to lose protected status.