Esteban Rios Sosa was detained by ICE along with his wife at a Camp Pendleton gate in September 2025 while trying to visit their pregnant daughter, whose husband is a U.S. Marine stationed there. Despite holding deferred action and a work permit tied to a pending U visa application as a crime victim, and having visited the base repeatedly without incident, ICE deported him to Mexico within a day; his wife was later released from Otay Mesa Detention Center. During nearly a year in Mexico, he said he feared being kidnapped and struggled with depression. Attorney Monika Langarica of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law filed a habeas corpus case on his behalf, and U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino ruled that his due process rights were violated because he was deported without notice or a hearing, ordering the government to facilitate his return. Rios Sosa crossed back into the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry to reunite with his family, return to his job cleaning cars, and meet his new grandchild.