Jose Contreras Diaz speaks on a video call from Honduras (Credits: MS Now)
A young man who was deported to Honduras despite holding 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 travel back to Texas after immigration authorities informed him he would be granted parole to re-enter the country. The 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 US since the age of eight. He had valid protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme and no criminal record at the time of his removal. He was working in the Rio Grande Valley as a pool technician when immigration officers detained him during a routine check-in and placed 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 so much stress, from so many hard decisions.”He described his deportation as sudden and traumatic, saying he had no time to prepare or say goodbye to his family. “We’ve tried to do everything as best as we can,” he said. “And like, why?”His wife gave birth to their son while he was still abroad, an event he missed completely. “It really put that wound in my heart,” he said.He added: “It hurt and it broke me. But we get up, you know, we get up and we keep fighting.”His case has raised questions about the handling of DACA recipients under stricter immigration enforcement. His lawyer, Stacy Tolchin, argued that his deportation was unlawful and cited a separate federal ruling that called a similar removal a “flagrant violation” of DACA protections.Shortly after legal pressure was applied, immigration authorities informed Contreras Diaz that he would be allowed to return. However, neither he nor his legal team has received a clear explanation from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding why the decision was reversed.A DHS spokesperson said that DACA recipients are not automatically protected from deportation and may still face removal in certain cases, including alleged criminal activity.Since its introduction in 2012, DACA has protected hundreds of thousands of people brought to US as children, allowing them to live and work legally. Public support for a pathway 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 for permanent legal status in the future.“That would be great. That would honestly be great. It would open up doors,” he said.He added: “You would restore my wings.”
