Lawsuit at a standstill for deported Valley mother with DACA status
McAllen, TX (KRGV) — A Rio Grande Valley mother of three is living in Matamoros, Mexico, after being deported despite holding legal permission to stay in the country and is now suing the federal government to get back home.
Jessica Treviño, 35, was brought to the United States when she was 7 years old. She received permission to stay in the country under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allowed her to legally live and work in the country.
Everything changed last December when immigration agents arrested her and her husband in a Home Depot parking lot in Harlingen.
"We were on our way to the church in San Benito when suddenly some ICE agents in unmarked cars pulled up next to us and turned on their lights," Treviño said. "A 2018 Malibu came along, hit us, and all the airbags in the car deployed — both the front and rear ones."
The Department of Homeland Security previously said Treviño’s husband was in the country illegally and driving at the time of the crash.
Treviño spent about three months in immigration custody before she was deported in March 2026.
According to the Associated Press, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sent Treviño a notice of intent to terminate her DACA status, citing unauthorized travel outside the United States on March 25, 2026 — the same day DHS deported her. Her DACA status was authorized through April 2027.
"It was unfair because they didn't take even a moment to check my status," Treviño said.
DHS said Treviño knowingly accepted voluntary departure and waived appeal, the AP reported.
Treviño's legal team has since taken her case to federal court, arguing in the lawsuit that her removal was not voluntary.
"I never signed anything for them. That morning when they woke me up and all that — when they gave me my papers — the people in charge of signatures told me, 'This is your voluntary release.' I told them, 'I'm not going to sign anything for you,'" Treviño said.
Federal court records show a judge has recommended the case be dismissed because Treviño was deported before filing the lawsuit and questioned whether the court could help her. The judge also said she did not provide enough evidence to show she was unlawfully removed.
Documentation has since been filed, but a new court date has not been set.
Channel 5 News reached out to Treviño's attorney for comment but has not heard back.
Treviño now lives in Matamoros, Mexico, separated from her three children, all U.S. citizens, who are living in the home where they grew up under the care of family.
"It's been really hard, really painful. There are days when I do get depressed because there seem to be more and more raids, as if it were never going to end," Treviño said.
Watch the video above for the full story.
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