FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 18, 2025
Media Contacts
press@homeishere.us
Members of Congress, Advocates, and Families Expose Alarming Increase in Detentions of DACA Recipients
Washington, D.C.—Today, the Home is Here Campaign hosted Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), along with Representatives Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) and Delia Ramirez (IL-03), for a virtual press call on the alarming threats to the DACA program’s future. During the call, the Home is Here campaign released a new tracker detailing the nearly 20 DACA recipients and dozens more immigrant youth who are held in detention to date. Speakers on the call underscored the increased risks DACA recipients and immigrant youth without DACA face under the administration and emphasized the urgency of delivering permanent protections in light of an alarming and escalating pattern of immigration agents detaining DACA recipients with active and valid DACA status.
As Members of Congress and leaders from Home is Here made clear, DHS is outright ignoring the protections DACA was designed to provide and routinely targeted DACA recipients during immigration check-ins, at airports, and even outside their homes, placing them in removal proceedings. These actions destabilize the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and their families, undermining the protection afforded by DACA and leaving entire communities living in fear of sudden family separation.
A recording of the press call can be found here.
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) said:
“The issue of the unlawful detention of hardworking DACA recipients is top of mind for me. That’s why I have been diligently pushing to hold this Administration accountable for its actions—including sending a letter to Secretary Noem calling out the wrongful targeting of DACA recipients in its mass deportation scheme,” said Durbin. “These young people, many of whom were on today’s call, grew up in this country and pledged allegiance to the same flag as my own kids. This is the only place they have ever called home. DACA was always intended to be a temporary stopgap to give Congress time to pass a permanent solution. I will continue to hold accountable those who try to deport these hard-working individuals. But it’s also long past time for Congress to do its job. There is a sense of urgency to pass the Dream Act as soon as possible, and I will not stop fighting until it is law.”
Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) said:
“The vast majority of the American people know that Dreamers deserve better,” said Senator Alex Padilla. “They deserve security. They deserve a pathway, not just to legal status, but eventually to citizenship. So when this Department of Homeland Security, when this Administration tells Dreamers and DACA recipients to self deport, we’re going to fight back, not just here in the halls of Congress, but we’re also going to continue to assist in the litigation and in organizing communities around the country.”
Representative Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) said:
“The Trump administration is killing DACA piece by piece. That is cruel, unconscionable, and un-American. Dreamers were brought here as children — the average age was just six years old. Six-year-olds don’t break laws; they follow their parents. Dreamers have kept their end of the bargain, and America must keep its promise. That’s why I filed the American Dream and Promise Act, which already has the support of more than 210 Members of Congress. We must pass it now and deliver a real pathway to citizenship, so Dreamers can have the dignity, stability, and future they deserve.”
Representative Delia Ramirez (IL-03) said:
“Across the nation, we’ve witnessed the disappearance of our neighbors due to the anti-immigrant policies of the Trump Administration. Their dangerous, unlawful, inhumane policies are undermining due process and putting immigrants, including DACA recipients, at grave risk. Enough is enough. Every member of Congress must prove to every Dreamer and immigrant that we know they are part of the fabric of our nation. We must demand answers from DHS on the disappearance of DACA recipients– and that is why I am proud to have led, with my colleague Rep Sylvia Garcia, 93 members of Congress to demand transparency.”
Jose, Brother of Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago, a DACA recipient whose deportation proceedings have been dismissed but continues to be detained, said:
“Xóchitl has dedicated her life to serving her community. From her work advocating for women and children in El Paso to securing driver’s licenses for all in Massachusetts and New Jersey. There is no lawful reason to justify her detention. My sister was boarding a domestic flight on her way to a work event when two CBP agents decided to detain her despite showing valid DACA. Our family and friends are devastated and very worried for her wellbeing. We don’t want to be separated from her. The administration’s blatant violation of the protections afforded under DACA should send shockwaves across the country. We demand Cata “Xóchitl”, along with other DACA recipients, be immediately released and return back home to their families. ”
Alejandra, Wife of Paulo Gamez Lira, a DACA recipient currently detained in Otero detention center in New Mexico, said:
“My husband has lived here nearly his entire life, built a career, and is raising our children—yet he was taken from us in our own home, in front of our kids. DACA was supposed to protect our family, but instead, we are living our worst nightmare. Our children cry every night, asking when their dad will come home. I am raising our newborn all by myself. No family should have to go through this. Paulo, along with all the other DACA recipients, must be released immediately and reunited with their families.”
Marilyn Fiallos, Sister of JeanCarlos Alexis Fiallos Manzanares, a DACA recipient, devoted father, and loving husband who was unlawfully detained by ICE on May 30, said:
“My brother’s absence has created a painful void in our lives—especially for his young children, who are struggling deeply without their father. He is a hard-working, family-oriented man who consistently puts others before himself. Despite his valid DACA status, JeanCarlos has been unlawfully kept in detention for nearly 4 months. That is time we, as his family, will never get back. While in detention at the Otero facility in New Mexico, my brother got news that his DACA renewal and Employment Authorization were approved for another 2 years until 2027. There is no reason, other than cruelty, for the government to keep my brother in detention. I urge Congress to fight for my brother’s release and pass permanent protections for individuals like JeanCarlos.”
Marie Fiallos, Wife of JeanCarlos Alexis Fiallos Manzanares, said:
“One of our most difficult moments as a couple was enduring the heartbreaking loss of our first child. That pain brought me and JeanCarlos even closer together and strengthened our bond as partners and as a family. We are now blessed with two beautiful children who adore and deeply depend on their father. His absence has created an emotional and financial hardship for our entire household. JeanCarlos is the sole provider for our family, and everything he does is for the benefit of our children and our future. Beyond his role as a father and husband, he is also a source of strength and support for his entire family. I urge Congress to use every tool at their disposal to help release my husband and all others being cruelly detained and separated from their families.”
Deya, Campaigns Director for United We Dream, said:
“The moment we are facing right now where immigration agents have detained close to 20 DACA recipients and the head of DHS is brazenly violating DACA’s protections and choosing to go after DACA recipients anyways, is shameful. DACA is and always has been lawful. That is why every attempt to try to end DACA through the courts over the last 13 years has failed. DHS should not be allowed to one day decide they’re going to make up and play by their own rules. That is now how democracy functions, and it’s DACA recipients like JeanCarlos –the sole provider of his family, a father, and husband– and his loved ones, who pay the price.”
Todd Schulte, President of FWD.us, said:
“Since its creation, DACA has been a beacon of hope, showing how much stronger our country is when people have the chance to work legally and live without fear of deportation. Rather than letting fear and disruption spread across every community and industry, we will all be better off with an immigration system that includes a pathway to citizenship. DACA has been an undeniable economic and moral success. Tragically today, it is under serious threat, and given the massive popularity of the program, we need the American public to know this.”
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The Home Is Here national coalition is fighting to protect DACA recipients, their families, and all immigrant communities at the U.S. Supreme Court. DACA recipients are undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. They are also our nurses, our teachers, our coworkers, our family members, and our friends — and their home is here. For more information visit HomeIsHere.Us