Lawsuit filed after Kansas City metro man, DACA recipient is deported to Mexico
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas man and his Kansas City based attorney have filed a lawsuit in the Dallas Division of the Northern District of Texas.
Evenezer Cortez Martinez, is a Roeland Park, Kansas resident. He's also a DACA recipient.
Among the defendants include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. There are also a few U.S. Officials in the suit too.
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On March 23, 2025, Cortez Martinez arrived at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport on a flight from Mexico City. He was gone a couple of days while visiting family after his grandfather died.
Court documents say he had his approved DACA application and a legally valid advance parole document (travel document)—which was valid until April 14, 2025—with him.
After arriving in the United States, Cortez Martinez appeared for inspection different times and was questioned. He gave his documents to authorities. His attorneys say he 'cooperated and truthfully answered' officers questions.
Cortez Martinez was then denied entry into the United States, indicating that he was 'inadmissible to the United States pursuant to section 212(a)(7)(A)(i)(I) of the INA as an immigrant without an immigrant visa based on the fact that [he had been] ordered removed in absentia on June 11, 2024.'
They further determined that Mr. Cortez Martinez's advance parole document was issued in error, and therefore he was subject to an expedited removal order for failing to be in possession of a valid entry document, the suit states.
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It's unclear if there was a hearing in the June 2024 absentia situation, or what came from it.
His attorneys allege denying his entry into the United States was based on an official's 'incorrect determination that the existence of a removal order in and of itself abated the ability of USCIS to issue a valid advance parole document.'
They also say he had no hearing or opportunity to contest his denial for reentry into the US. He was escorted to another flight and was returned to Mexico the same day.
Documents say Cortez Martinez had not been back to Mexico since he was four years old.
Since this incident, his attorneys say his DACA benefits are at risk. His advance parole document (travel document) is also only valid until April 14 of this year.
The defendants have prevented Cortez Martinez from having his case heard by an immigration judge, the suit says, along with any procedural due process.
He had been in the United States for over 35 years. His latest DACA application was valid through October 22, 2026.
The suit says it seeks 'declaratory, injunctive and mandamus relief to find that the Defendants actions were arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law when they confiscated Plaintiff's validly issued advance parole documents, improperly subjected him to expedited removal proceedings without hearing, and removed him from the United States on March 23, 2025 at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport.'
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Documents say officials also wrote the word 'deported' in his Mexican passport.
'Non-citizens who came to the United States as children and met several guidelines may request consideration for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an exercise of prosecutorial discretion, providing temporary relief from deportation (deferred action) and work authorization. Once approved, DACA benefits also include the ability to seek advance parole for travel,' the lawsuit filed on April 2 reads.
Rui Xu, Democrat for Kansas House District 25, posted remarks about this situation on Facebook Monday:
'A Roeland Park DACA recipient was deported last month by the Trump Administration after visiting his grandfather's gravesite. We knew this Administration's immigration policies would be cruel, but this is the ripping apart of a life, a family, and a community for no reason other than to stoke fear and score political points. This father grew up here. He went to school here, his kids go to school here. He contributed, he belonged, and he dared to believe that America was his home—because it was. There is no justice in this decision. We must keep fighting every day against the insane and cruel policies of President Trump.'
You can learn more about DACA here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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