Yaakub Bijandre was getting ready to go to work as a mechanic when six cars showed up outside his Dallas-area home. Federal agents jumped out, one pointing a weapon at him and taking him into custody.
Bijendre is a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era program that has protected hundreds of thousands of people from deportation since 2012 if they were brought to the U.S. as children and typically did not cause trouble. The Trump administration announced it had targeted Mr. Bijandre over social media posts. The freelance videographer and pro-Palestinian activist briefed his lawyer about his arrest in early October, who relayed the information to reporters.
His arrest and several others this year signal changes in how the United States treats DACA recipients as President Trump’s administration reorganizes immigration policy more broadly. The changes come amid increased scrutiny, including on social media, when immigrants apply for visas, green cards, citizenship or request the release of children from federal custody. The administration is also seeking to deport international students who participate in pro-Palestinian activities.
DACA was established to protect recipients, commonly referred to as “Dreamers,” from immigration arrest and deportation. It also allows them to work legally in the United States, and recipients can reapply every two years. Previously, if their status was in jeopardy, they were warned and still had an opportunity to fight it before immigration officials detained them and began deportation efforts.
In response to questions about the changes, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement saying, “People who claim to be Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients are not automatically protected from deportation. DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country.” DACA recipients can lose eligibility “for a variety of reasons, including if they commit a crime,” she said.
McLaughlin also claimed that Bijandor had posted on social media that “glorified terrorism,” including one praising Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida leader in Iraq who was killed in a U.S. attack in 2006.
Mr. Bijandre’s lawyer, Chris Godshall Bennett, said Mr. Bijandre’s social media activity was “clearly” protected speech. He also said the government did not provide details about specific posts in court documents.
Bijendre is one of about 20 DACA recipients who have been arrested or detained by immigration authorities since President Trump took office in January, according to Home is Here, a campaign launched by a pro-DACA advocacy group. The government is seeking to terminate his DACA status, which could result in him being deported to the Philippines, a home he has never visited since his family came to the United States in 2001 when he was 14.
DACA faces legal challenges
DACA survived an initial attempt by the Trump administration to cancel the program in 2020, when the Supreme Court ruled that the administration had not taken adequate steps to end the program.
There have been other attempts to terminate the program or place limits on recipients.
This year, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to deny work permits to DACA recipients living in Texas. The Trump administration recently presented its plan to a federal judge who is determining how it would work.
The administration also imposed new restrictions that prevent DACA recipients and some other immigrants from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses. Last year, 19 Republican states stripped DACA recipients of their access to health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. And since the Justice Department began suing states this year, the number of states in which immigrant students can qualify for in-state tuition has declined.
“This administration may not be trying to completely end DACA like it was in the beginning, but it will be gradual, gradual,” said Juliana Macedo de Nascimento, a spokeswoman for United We Dream, a group that is part of Home is Here, a coalition that tracks public cases of detained DACA recipients.
Detained DACA recipients question arrest
Catalina “Xositl” Santiago Santiago, a 28-year-old activist from El Paso, was arrested in August even though she showed immigration officials a valid work permit obtained through DACA.
A few days later, federal agents arrested the 28-year-old father as he arrived at his El Paso home with his children for a doctor’s appointment. According to his lawyer, the agent dislocated his shoulder.
Mr. Santiago and Mr. Gamez Lira were detained for more than a month while their lawyers sought their release.
Marisa Ong, an attorney for Santiago and Gamez Lira, said the government did not notify either of her clients of its intention to terminate their DACA status.
“DACA recipients have a constitutionally protected interest in their continued freedom,” Ong said, adding that “the government cannot take away that freedom without providing some good reason.”
DACA recipients can lose their eligibility if they are convicted of a felony, a gross misdemeanor such as harming another person, DUI or drug distribution, or three or more misdemeanors. They can also lose their positions if they pose a threat to national security or public safety.
DHS said in a statement that Santiago had previously been charged with criminal trespass, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, and that Gamez Lira had also been previously arrested for possession of marijuana.
Ong said that when his lawyers asked for their release, “the government presented no evidence of past misconduct by either individual.”
Bijendre, a Dallas-area man arrested in October, remains in a Georgia jail. His lawyers said they received notice two weeks before his arrest that the government was planning to revoke his DACA status, but he was not given a chance to fight it.
“I think the administration, at least for now, has drawn a very clear line between citizens and non-citizens. The goal of the government is to expel as many non-citizens as possible and make it as difficult as possible for non-citizens to enter the country,” said Godshall Bennett, Bijendre’s lawyer.
Gonzalez writes for The Associated Press.
