Texas Tribune/KSAT: Texas DACA Recipient José Contreras Díaz — Illegally Deported January 2026, Returned Under Court Order, Re-Detained 8 Days at Port Isabel, Released May 7

KSAT (San Antonio) published a Texas Tribune investigation on May 13, 2026 detailing the case of José Contreras Díaz, 30, from Edinburg, Texas. Contreras Díaz arrived from Honduras at age 8 and has lived in the Rio Grande Valley for 22 years, holding DACA status since 2014. On January 11, 2026, he was deported at a routine immigration appointment — an agent told him 'The administration is choosing to do things differently.' He was removed to Honduras despite his active DACA status. His attorney, Stacy Tolchin, filed an emergency lawsuit, and U.S. District Judge Dena M. Coggins ruled his deportation a 'flagrant violation' of federal law. On April 29, 2026, ICE flew him back to the United States — but upon landing, he was immediately detained at Port Isabel Detention Center in Los Fresnos, Texas, for eight days. During his illegal deportation to Honduras, his son Mateo was born. Contreras Díaz was released on May 7, 2026, in time for Mother's Day, but remains subject to periodic ICE reporting requirements and fears arrest for any minor infraction. His case is one of at least 261 DACA recipients arrested by ICE and 86 deported since the Trump second term began in January 2025, according to DHS data cited in the investigation. The Board of Immigration Appeals issued a precedent ruling on April 25, 2026 — 29 I&N Dec. 589 — finding that DACA status alone cannot halt deportation proceedings, further weakening protections for the approximately 506,000 active DACA recipients nationwide.