He and his son were apprehended near the border in March 2019, held briefly, then released into the community with an ankle monitor; officers removed the monitor later that year, and his removal proceedings were dismissed in 2022 without an order of removal. He lives in the Bay Area with his partner, has no criminal convictions, and the local District Attorney confirmed no charges were ever filed from a 2023 arrest. In 2026 his partner applied to sponsor her son and niece out of federal custody, and the couple passed background checks, DNA testing, and a home study. After questioning his partner, an ICE agent demanded a face-to-face interview with him, warning the children might not be released otherwise, and directed him to report to an office at 7 a.m. on October 8, 2026. When he arrived as instructed, officers barred his interpreter, conducted no interview, and instead arrested him for having entered without inspection — a fact authorities had known since 2019 — and issued him a notice to appear in immigration court. The court found he was likely denied due process by being detained with no hearing and no evidence he posed a danger or flight risk, and ordered his immediate release, barring agents from re-detaining him without notice and a hearing or removing him from the district or country.