15. USCIS granted Mr. Montes deferred action under DACA in 2014, and he successfully renewed his DACA status in 2016 for another two years, expiring in 2018.
16. Mr. Montes also obtained an Employment Authorization Document (“EAD”) issued under the DACA program. The EAD issued to Mr. Montes is the type of EAD that is granted only to DACA recipients. The “C33” category corresponds to DACA.
17. On or about February 17, 2017, Mr. Montes was walking to a taxi stand in Calexico, California after leaving a friend’s house when a law enforcement official— seemingly a CBP officer—on a bicycle approached him and began to question him. It was approximately 10:00 p.m. when he was stopped. The officer asked Mr. Montes in an aggressive manner for identification, but Mr. Montes had accidentally left his wallet, which contained his California identification card and EAD, in a friend’s car. The officer then called another agent or officer to the scene. Mr. Montes was scared and confused that he had been stopped and felt threatened by the officer.
18. A second officer arrived at the scene and placed him in a vehicle. That officer then drove Mr. Montes to a station at the port of entry in or near Calexico. There, he was detained, questioned, and asked to sign certain documents, which may have been in English. Although Mr. Montes speaks and reads English, Spanish is his preferred language.
19. Mr. Montes was not provided with the opportunity to see an immigration judge, seek the assistance of counsel, or review the contents of the documents that he was forced to sign. He was also not provided a copy of any of those documents and is unaware of the legal basis for his physical removal.
20. Upon information and belief, CBP was able to determine if Mr. Montes had DACA status before he was physically removed. Mr. Montes has had minor traffic offenses and a single misdemeanor offense, none of which would have disqualified Mr. Montes from DACA.
21. At approximately 1:00 a.m. or later, CBP officers walked Mr. Montes to the U.S.-Mexico border (near Mexicali, Baja California) and physically removed him from the United States despite his DACA status.