Maria de Jesús Estrada Juárez recalls the 40 days she spent in Mexico as a dark time. After more than 27 years in the United States, her country of birth no longer felt like home. At 42, Estrada Juárez found herself needing help with the smallest things, grocery shopping, for instance, or riding the bus. Worst of all, she was missing the most important person in her life: her US citizen daughter Damaris Bello.

“There were some moments where it was even hard for me to breathe,” Estrada Juárez said during a video call last week. “We’ve never been apart so much; we’ve always been together.”

In February, Estrada Juárez was wrongfully deported to Mexico despite having protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that shields undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation. She’s now back in Sacramento after a California federal judge ordered the Trump administration to return her to the United States. But readjusting to life post-deportation hasn’t been easy, and mother and daughter are still reeling from the forced separation.

“I think a lot of people assume that the story ends when your loved one comes back,” 22-year-old Bello said. “But that’s just the beginning of when the healing process starts.”

Their nightmare started on the morning of February 18 when Estrada Juárez appeared for an interview as part of the process of adjusting her immigration status to that of a permanent legal resident, which she was eligible for as the relative of a US citizen. Estrada Juárez was excited about the prospect of no longer being required to renew her DACA status, something she has had to do every two years since 2013. “We thought of it as the next step forward,” Bello said. “But obviously there were different plans in store, and things changed overnight.”

Estrada Juárez went to the appointment accompanied by Bello and prepared with years’ worth of tax filings, her work permit, proof of DACA renewals, and a copy of the advance parole authorization she had received in 2014 to go on a short trip to Mexico and lawfully return. The interview appeared to be going fine until the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officer told Estrada Juárez she had an outstanding order of removal from when she first entered the United States in 1998 at the age of 15. He said he would have to consult his supervisor.

Estrada Juárez, who had never known about a removal order, turned to her daughter and said, “I’m getting deported.” Bello reassured her that there was no reason to worry; after all, she had followed the rules and done everything right. But then they heard a knock on........

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