Jose Contreras Díaz speaks via video call from Honduras (Credit: MS Now)
A young man who was deported to Honduras despite having legal protection has been told he will be allowed to return to the United States, ending months of separation from his family.
He even missed the birth of his son in Texas.30-year-old Jose Contreras Diaz is now expected to return to Texas after immigration authorities informed him he will be granted parole to return to the country. This decision comes after his sudden deportation in January, which left him stranded in Honduras while his wife gave birth to their son, Mateo.Contreras Diaz has lived in the United States since he was eight years old. He had valid protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and had no criminal record at the time of his deportation.
He was working in the Rio Grande Valley as a swimming pool technician when immigration officers arrested him during a routine check-in and put him on a flight to Honduras.“I feel like I woke up,” Contreras Diaz said, sharing his story for the first time with MS NOW.He added: “I woke up from a lot of stress, and from a lot of difficult decisions.”He described his deportation as sudden and shocking, saying he did not have time to prepare or say goodbye to his family. “We tried to do everything the best we could,” he said. “And like why?”His wife gave birth to their son while he was still abroad, an event he completely missed.
“It really put a wound on my heart,” he said.“It was painful and it broke me. But we got up, you know, we got up and we keep fighting,” he added.His case has raised questions about how DACA recipients will be treated under stricter immigration enforcement. His lawyer, Stacy Tolchin, said his deportation was illegal and cited a separate federal ruling that called similar deportations a “flagrant violation” of DACA protections.Shortly after applying legal pressure, immigration authorities informed Contreras Díaz that he would be allowed to return. However, neither he nor his legal team received a clear explanation from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as to why the decision was overturned.A DHS spokesperson said DACA recipients are not automatically protected from deportation and may face deportation in some cases, including for alleged criminal activity.Since its introduction in 2012, DACA has protected hundreds of thousands of people who were brought to the United States as children, allowing them to live and work legally. Public support for a path to citizenship for these individuals remains high in national surveys.For Contreras Diaz, the priority now is returning to his family and rebuilding his life in Texas. Despite his ordeal, he says he still hopes to obtain permanent legal status in the future.“That would be great. That would be great, frankly. It would open doors,” he said.“You’ll get my wings back,” he added.
