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NBC News
24-07-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Detentions of DACA recipients show they're not shielded from Trump's mass deportations
Missing an exit while driving on a San Diego freeway upended the life of Erick Hernandez, a DACA recipient who is now at risk of being deported to El Salvador, a country he hasn't seen in 20 years. Hernandez, 34, was giving two passengers a ride from Los Angeles to San Ysidro, known as the " most southern community in California" because it is so close to the Mexican border, on June 1 as a driver for a ride-share service. But he accidentally ended up in Tijuana, Mexico, after missing an exit, NBC San Diego reported this week. Because DACA recipients are not allowed to leave the country without prior approval, federal immigration authorities took Hernandez into custody when he tried to return to the U.S. Hernandez's case is one of the most recent showing how fears of possible deportation are becoming a reality for some undocumented young adults with legal permission to work and study in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. "His attempt to come back to the United States and say, 'This was a mistake. It was an accident. I was not trying to leave the United States,' was ignored," Hernandez's attorney, Valerie Sigamani, told NBC San Diego. 'When that happened, he lost everything." 'A growing pattern' Javier Diaz Santana, a DACA recipient who is deaf and mute, was detained in June when immigration authorities raided the car wash where he worked. And this month, a 36-year-old DACA recipient from Florida was among the first to be detained in the state's new immigrant detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz." Anabel Mendoza, director of communications at United We Dream, the nation's largest immigrant youth-led network, told NBC News the organization is starting to notice a "growing pattern that is exposing the vulnerabilities" DACA recipients face under Trump's immigration crackdown. McLaughlin said that "a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation." But DACA recipients are not breaking the law by being in the U.S. A court ruling this year determined that all current DACA recipients can keep their deportation protections and work authorizations aslong as they meet their requirements and renew their status. The court ruling was issued as part of a seven-year legal challenge from the first Trump administration and nine Republican-led states seeking to end DACA, which was started in 2012. Support for 'Dreamers' — but a crackdown instead Trump's efforts to end DACA in his first term and Republican legal challenges shut out an estimated 600,000 DACA-eligible teenagers and young adults from the program, which hasn't been open to new applications because of ongoing lawsuits. Polls and surveys have consistently shown that most U.S. adults favor granting permanent legal status and a pathway to citizenship for "Dreamers" — young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. In December, Trump told NBC News' 'Meet the Press' he would work on a plan 'to do something about the Dreamers.' But last month, a White House spokesperson told NBC News this wasn't a priority for the president, who is instead focusing on 'deporting criminal illegal aliens.' The recent detentions of DACA recipients and the administration's comments that DACA doesn't 'confer legal status' highlight the need to pass permanent protections that include a pathway to citizenship for the nearly 530,000 people in the DACA program, Mendoza said. Meanwhile, DACA recipients continue to stress their ties to the U.S. and that they've abided by the law. 'To qualify for DACA, we have to pass [background] checks, have a clean criminal record, and be good people,' said Evenezer Cortez Martínez, a DACA recipient who was recently denied re-entry into the U.S. and deported despite having secured permission to go on a trip to Mexico; he was able to return after two weeks. 'It was very stressful. I thought I had lost everything,' Cortez Martínez told NBC News following his return home in April. When Diaz Santana was confronted by immigration authorities on June 12 during a raid at his workplace, the deaf and mute DACA recipient showed them his Real ID driver's license. Diaz Santana believed he would be safe, according to the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the story. After all, he has DACA status, no criminal history and a valid identification. Still, he was taken into custody and spent a month in a detention center in Texas. Diaz Santana was released two weeks ago on a $1,500 bond, the lowest amount possible. He is at home in California with a GPS ankle monitor that allows immigration officials to keep tabs on his whereabouts, the Los Angeles Times reported. "This individual is an illegal alien. This Administration is not going to ignore the rule of law," McLaughlin said, though Diaz Santana has legal permission under DACA. In Florida, a 36-year-old DACA recipient was detained after missing a court date for driving with a suspended license, WESH-TV, NBC's affiliate in Orlando, reported. Josephine Arroyo, his attorney, told NBC News on Wednesday her client has no criminal convictions and has not been formally charged with any infractions. He has a "great job," she previously told WESH, adding that his employer had written a letter on his behalf. The DACA recipient has spent the past two months in immigration detention, including about two weeks in Alligator Alcatraz, which is facing allegations for keeping detainees in torturous conditions. Arroyo said she was able to get her client relocated to the Glades County Detention Center this week. When she visited him on Monday, her client said he was desperate to see his family. "He is still shocked and surprised this happened to him," despite having DACA, said Arroyo, who requested that her client be granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of his case. In California, Hernandez is being held in the Otay Mesa Detention Center. He has no criminal history, his attorney and family told NBC San Diego. Sigamani, his attorney, said immigration authorities at the border asked Hernandez for an $800 bribe in exchange for letting him return to the U.S. after mistakenly ending up in Mexico. After declining, according to the attorney, Hernandez was placed in expedited removal proceedings, making him ineligible for bond and unable to witness the birth of his son next month. 'I'm just worried that if he gets deported," Hernandez's pregnant wife, Nancy Rivera, told NBC San Diego, "how I'm going to manage everything by myself?" Sigamani said she filed a complaint with the FBI, hoping her client will be shielded from deportation if he is asked to cooperate in an investigation into his detention. McLaughlin said that the Office of Professional Responsibility at Customs and Border Protection is conducting a review of the allegations. She also characterized Hernandez's wrong turn while driving as a self-deportation and his attempt to return as an illegal re-entry. 'A little mistake should not upend your entire life," said Mendoza, of United We Dream.
New York Post
24-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Migrant dad facing deportation after taking wrong turn and accidentally leaving US: attorney
A migrant dad is being deported from the US after he took a wrong turn on a California freeway and ended up in Mexico, according to his lawyer. Erick Hernandez came to the US from El Salvador when he was 14, making him a recipient of DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, NBC San Diego reported. But he lost those protections when he left the US on June 1 without permission — which he blamed on a wrong turn while working as a rideshare driver on a routine journey near the border in Los Angeles. 'When that happened, he lost everything, basically,' his attorney, Valerie Sigamani, said of the dad who was detained and fast-tracked for deportation. 'He no longer has DACA,' he said. Erick Hernandez, a DACA recipient who came to the US two decades ago when he was 14 years old, crossed the US-Mexico border by accident in San Ysidro on June 1 while working as a rideshare driver, his lawyer said. NBC San Diego 'His attempt to come back to the United States and say, 'This was a mistake. It was an accident. I was not trying to leave the United States,' was ignored,' the lawyer said. Hernandez was in the process of gaining legal status in the US after marrying his wife Nancy Rivera, who is a US citizen, late last year. His wife is also expecting their second child. Hernandez married US citizen Nancy Rivera, who is expecting their second child next month. NBC San Diego However, Hernandez's DACA eligibility was wiped because those in the program have to seek prior approval before leaving the US. 'I'm just worrying,' his pregnant wife said. 'I'm just worried that he's, if he gets deported, like, how I'm going to manage everything by myself. 'It's just a lot of, you know, stress, anxiety that I have.' 'He was my main support, you know?' she added. 'It was, I just think one second that, you know, everything changed.' Hernandez is currently being held at Otay Mesa Detention Center. The status of his deportation wasn't immediately clear. 'He's afraid of returning to El Salvador,' his lawyer said. 'He doesn't know that country. He hasn't been there since he was a kid, so he has no idea what it's like to live in El Salvador.'
New York Post
10-07-2025
- New York Post
Jealous ex-wife allegedly spied on former husband, new family inside home for over 700 hours by tapping into Ring cameras: report
An envious ex-wife allegedly spied on her former husband and his new family by tapping into their home security system — racking up over 700 hours of watched footage. Yantzy Villefranche and his fiancée, Acacia Young, accused Villefranche's ex-wife of spying on them through the indoor Ring cameras they set up because one of their children began sleepwalking, according to court records and NBC San Diego. 'There's no way to describe how violated you feel,' Young told the outlet. 'It feels like someone touched me. It feels like I found somebody in my house, physically in my house. Like she had been in my house for months, and we had no idea.' Advertisement 4 Acacia Young speaks out after allegedly finding out her fiancé's ex-wife had been spying on her family inside their home. NBC 7 The cameras were set up inside the mixed family's home in the San Diego neighborhood of Rancho Peñasquitos. Young became skeptical of the newly installed technology in May when she noticed the camera's blue light, indicating recording and live view mode being on when she says it shouldn't have been. Advertisement 'I just started to feel kinda crazy,' Young said. 'Like what the hell is going on?' Young claims it didn't take long for her suspicions to be confirmed. The family was sitting together in the living room when a female's voice came over one of the camera's speakers. 'It was his ex-wife's voice — it was her voice,' Young told NBC San Diego. 'And I looked up and the blue light was on and the camera was rolling.' Advertisement 4 Young recorded on one of the cameras inside her San Diego home on May 14, 2025. NBC 7 Young pulled down the cameras and the couple soon discovered Villefranche's ex-wife's name was attached to their Ring account. The Ring cameras were connected to several Amazon devices that listed the ex-wife's name and the couple didn't own, according to NBC San Diego. Villefranche had owned the cameras when he was still married to his ex-wife and she had access to the cameras at the time. Advertisement He had believed he had removed her from the devices during their divorce. 4 Yantzy Villefranche and Acacia Young recorded on the Ring Camera inside their home. NBC 7 Villefranche sent a cease-and-desist letter to his ex-wife along with a restraining order aimed at protecting him, Young and their three children. The ex-wife had allegedly recorded hundreds of clips, including some featuring Young breastfeeding the couple's newborn, videos featuring partially undressed and nude children and Villefranche's 10-year-old stepson in 'vulnerable settings,' according to the restraining order viewed by the local outlet. 'Ring device logs show that she accessed my account … and viewed video footage for approximately 44,640 minutes … over the span of two months,' Villefranche wrote in a restraining order filed in May. Young accused the woman of recording up to 12 hours of footage a day for several weeks. She says she recognized Villefranche's ex-wife's voice in at least 13 clips recorded and saved to the account. 4 Young and her newborn inside their home after allegedly being spied on. NBC 7 Advertisement Some of the moments the ex-wife allegedly eavesdropped on were private, sensitive conversations the couple had discussing finances, Social Security numbers and bank account information, the outlet reported. 'She watched the most intimate things,' Young said. 'You don't want your fiancé's ex-wife watching these moments, like us living our lives together. 'It doesn't matter if you're breaking in behind a screen. You broke into our home,' she added. Advertisement Two restraining orders filed against the ex-wife have been dismissed in court, according to court records viewed by The Post. San Diego Police investigated the claims made by Young and Villefranche, transferring the case to the San Diego District Attorney's Office. Police recommended several charges that the ex-wife could face including eavesdropping, wiretapping and stalking, the outlet reported. Criminal charges have not been filed as of Wednesday night.
Newsweek
27-05-2025
- Newsweek
California Mayor Issues Warning Over Mexican Sewage Flooding Beaches
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Millions of gallons of sewage, contaminated water and trash flood into California from Mexico every day, and beaches in Coronado, San Diego County, closed over the weekend because of it. The city's mayor has said it risks becoming seen as the "toilet of Mexico," which could lead to a decrease in tourism. Why It Matters The Tijuana River, which crosses from Mexico into California before emptying into the Pacific Ocean, carries not only water but also millions of gallons of untreated sewage. The decades-old problem has sparked both health and environmental concerns. A stock image of a girl at a beach in Coronado, California, on October 4, 2023. A stock image of a girl at a beach in Coronado, California, on October 4, To Know Swimming was prohibited along the Coronado shoreline over Memorial Day weekend as San Diego County extended water contact closures due to ongoing sewage contamination, NBC San Diego reported on Sunday. The closures—which were already in effect for the Tijuana Slough shoreline, Imperial Beach and the Silver Strand—were expanded on Saturday to include Coronado's southwestern-facing beaches, the outlet said. Mayor John Duncan told The New York Times that fewer tourists were booking lodges in the resort city as a result of the forced beach closures. "My biggest concern as mayor is that the reputation as 'the toilet of Mexico' starts to stick at some point and really hurts us," he said. In recent years, San Diego County beaches have faced about 1,000 days of closures due to contamination. Local residents have reported falling ill, and military personnel stationed in the area have also been affected. A report from the Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General recorded 1,100 illness cases among Navy SEALs and other service members exposed to the polluted waters. What People Are Saying James Cooper, a professor at California Western School of Law, previously told Newsweek: "Beaches, north of where the Tijuana River meets the Pacific along the coast from Imperial Beach to Coronado, are closed more often than they are open. The bacterial dangers are immense for those brave enough to get into the Pacific. Surfers who hit the waves, U.S. Navy Seals who train in the area, ranchers whose animals drink water from the watershed, sea mammals who live in the Pacific are all negatively impacted by this ongoing environmental disaster." What Happens Next Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said on May 20 that the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission was fast-tracking an expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant—which treats sewage and wastewater flow from Tijuana—by 10 million gallons per day in an effort to mitigate the crisis. Zeldin previously said that at a meeting on April 21, Mexican Environmental Secretary Alicia Bárcena conveyed President Claudia Sheinbaum's commitment to building a strong partnership with the U.S. to resolve the issue. "Americans on our side of the border who have been dealing with this for decades are out of patience," Zeldin said at a news conference, as reported by The Epoch Times. "There's a very limited opportunity. What's being communicated by the new Mexican president is an intense desire to fully resolve this situation."
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Small plane crashes into San Diego neighborhood as crews rush to find survivors
A small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood early Thursday, setting multiple cars and homes on fire and prompting an evacuation of part of the neighborhood. A small Cessna 550 carrying an unknown number of passengers crashed into the Murphy Canyon neighborhood while headed to Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport around 3:47 a.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said. The crash, which occurred during foggy weather, prompted the evacuation of a stretch of homes within the military housing neighborhood. "There are multiple cars engulfed, we have jet fuel all over the place. We have hazmat on scene, and we asked for more resources. We are also working with the military," Assistant Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said. "The main goal moving forward is to ensure all those houses are cleared and no one is inside. Then we will move in the middle where the plane crashed near the cars and search them, then search the plane." There was 'a direct hit to multiple homes,' Eddy said, according to NBC San Diego. Eddy also noted it was very foggy at the time the plane crashed, telling reporters, 'You could barely see in front of you.' Authorities have not yet determined whether the weather played a role in the crash. It was not immediately known how many people were on the plane, and whether there were any injuries. The Cessna 550 aircraft can carry six to eight people. Eddy told reporters no passengers had been transported from the scene as of about 5:30 a.m., CBS 8 reported. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. This is a developing story... With Associated Press contributions.
