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In McAllen, Yaakub Vijandre was ready to head to his job as a mechanic when six vehicles suddenly appeared outside his home in the Dallas area. Federal agents emerged, one of them aiming a weapon at him, and took him into custody.
Vijandre is a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has provided protection against deportation for hundreds of thousands brought to the United States as children since its inception in 2012, as long as they remain law-abiding. The Trump administration has indicated that Vijandre was targeted due to his social media activity. He described his arrest in early October to his lawyers, who subsequently shared the details with the media.
This incident, along with several others this year, reflects a shift in how the U.S. government is addressing DACA recipients as immigration policies evolve under President Trump. Immigrants are now facing heightened scrutiny, including examination of their social media accounts, when applying for visas, green cards, citizenship, or attempting to secure the release of their children from federal custody. Additionally, the administration has aimed to deport foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian activism.
DACA was established to protect recipients—often referred to as “Dreamers”—from immigration detentions and deportations. It also permits them to work legally in the U.S., with renewals required every two years. Previously, if their status was at risk, they would receive a warning and have the opportunity to contest it before facing detention or deportation proceedings.
In response to inquiries about potential changes, Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, stated that individuals claiming DACA status are not automatically shielded from deportation. She emphasized that DACA does not grant any legal status and that recipients could lose their protections for various reasons, including criminal activity.
McLaughlin also asserted that Vijandre had made social media posts that she deemed “glorifying terrorism,” including one that allegedly praised Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former al-Qaida leader in Iraq, who was killed by a U.S. airstrike in 2006.
Vijandre’s attorney, Chris Godshall-Bennett, argued that his client’s social media expressions are clearly protected speech and pointed out the government has yet to provide specific examples of the posts in court documents.
Vijandre is one of approximately 20 DACA recipients arrested or detained by immigration officials since Trump assumed office in January, according to Home is Here, a campaign spearheaded by advocacy groups for DACA recipients. The administration is seeking to terminate his DACA status, which could lead to his deportation to the Philippines, a country he hasn’t visited since his family immigrated to the U.S. in 2001 when he was just 14.
DACA has faced numerous legal challenges. The program endured the first Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle it, with the Supreme Court ruling in 2020 that proper procedures were not followed to end it.
Efforts to impose restrictions on the program and its recipients have persisted. This year, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to deny work permits for DACA recipients residing in Texas. The Trump administration has recently outlined its plans to a federal judge who is evaluating how these changes will be implemented.
New restrictions have also been set on commercial driver’s licenses, blocking access for DACA recipients and certain other immigrants. Last year, 19 Republican-led states removed DACA recipients’ eligibility for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and the number of states allowing immigrant students to qualify for in-state tuition has decreased since the Department of Justice began legal actions against states this year.
“While this administration may not be attempting to abolish DACA altogether as it did previously, they are certainly eroding its foundations,” stated Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, a spokesperson for United We Dream, part of the Home is Here coalition that tracks public cases of detained DACA recipients.
Concerns have arisen from detained DACA recipients regarding the circumstances of their arrests. Catalina “Xóchitl” Santiago, a 28-year-old activist from El Paso, was arrested in August even after presenting immigration officers with a valid work permit obtained through DACA.
Shortly after, Paulo Cesar Gamez Lira, a 28-year-old father, was taken into custody as he returned home to El Paso with his children following a doctor’s appointment, with agents allegedly causing a shoulder dislocation during the arrest, as reported by his lawyers.
Both Santiago and Gamez Lira were held for over a month as their attorneys sought their release.
Marisa Ong, the attorney representing Santiago and Gamez Lira, stated that the government had not informed either client of any intention to revoke their DACA status.
“DACA recipients have a constitutionally protected interest in their continued liberty,” Ong remarked, emphasizing that “the government cannot strip away that liberty without valid justification.”
DACA recipients risk losing their status if convicted of felonies, serious misdemeanors like those involving harm to others, driving under the influence, or drug distribution, or if they accumulate three or more misdemeanors. They may also face revocation of their status if deemed a threat to national security or public safety.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has claimed that Santiago had previous charges for trespassing and narcotics possession, and that Gamez Lira had a prior arrest for marijuana possession. However, Ong noted that when attorneys sought their release, “the government provided no evidence of any past misconduct by either individual.”
Vijandre, the Dallas-area man arrested in October, remains in a detention center in Georgia. His attorneys assert he received a notice two weeks prior to his arrest indicating the government’s intention to revoke his DACA status, yet he was not afforded the opportunity to contest it.
“The administration has drawn a very clear line, at least for now, between citizens and noncitizens, with the goal of removing as many noncitizens from the country as possible and making it increasingly difficult for them to enter,” stated Godshall-Bennett, Vijandre’s attorney.
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