He Won, But Was Deported Anyway

Joel Rose, NPR, Jan. 9, 2020

"The judge granted Jesus withholding of removal, a form of protection from deportation. In other words, he won — something that very few migrants at the border can say these days. Jesus thought he might finally be allowed into the U.S., where he could reunite with his family.

Instead, immigration officers told him he was going back to Mexico, where he'd already spent nearly three months waiting to see a judge.

... Kizuka showed immigration authorities the judge's order granting Jesus protection in the United States.

"They told us that Jesus was not going to be allowed into the United States," Kizuka said. "One officer told me that by going back to Mexico, his deportation had already been carried out."

Kizuka says he spent more than four hours arguing with officers at the border, while the staff at Human Rights First called the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, members of Congress — anyone they could think of for help.

Finally, without explanation, Kizuka says immigration officials relented and let Jesus in. He's now in Florida, reunited with his sister and mother. They're all fighting for full asylum protections, which would give them a path to citizenship in the United States."