A rideshare driver allowed to live in the U.S. under a program for immigrants who arrived undocumented as children said that he mistakenly drove into Tijuana while transporting passengers near San Ysidro.
Now, Erick Alexander Hernández, a 34-year-old man originally from El Salvador, is in immigration custody in San Diego and being fast-tracked for deportation, despite his explanations that it was an honest mistake. He has lived in the United States for 20 years.
“It’s a horrible nightmare,” his mother, Elsa Hernández, said on Friday. “It was a mistake. It could happen to anyone.”
His mother said that Hernández is unfamiliar with the roads in San Diego because he lives in Los Angeles. He works installing air conditioners and drives for ride-sharing services to earn extra income.
On June 1, Hernández was driving two passengers from Los Angeles, who had attended a soccer match, to San Diego. However, he missed the last exit in San Ysidro and accidentally drove into Mexico, he said in a letter shared by his attorney. The case was first reported by NBC 7 San Diego.
Hernández explained what had happened to the Mexican border officials, who then guided him to the San Ysidro Port of Entry into the United States to turn around. He was later arrested.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, began in 2012 under the Obama administration for individuals who arrived in the United States as children and met certain requirements. The program provides temporary protection from deportation and work authorization. His mother said that her son has been a DACA recipient from the beginning.
However, DACA recipients cannot leave the country without prior authorization.
While Hernández says he made a mistake — one that numerous southbound drivers in San Diego have made over the decades — the Department of Homeland Security has characterized his border-crossing differently.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Hernández “self-deported and then tried to illegally re-enter the U.S.”
In the June 23 letter, Hernández said he told U.S. border officials at the port of entry that he crossed the border by accident and showed them documents proving he is a DACA recipient.
He also claimed that while detained at the port, an official asked him for $800 to allow him to return. McLaughlin said the matter is under investigation.
“CBP takes all allegations of misconduct seriously, investigates thoroughly, and holds employees accountable when policies are violated,” she said. “This matter has been referred to the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility for review.”
Hernández is married to a U.S. citizen, and they had begun the process of legalizing his status beyond DACA, the family said.
He is currently in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, now facing expedited removal proceedings, a process that allows the government to quickly remove someone from the country without a full hearing before an immigration judge.
His attorney, Valerie Sigamani, said she requested a stay of removal because his wife is about to give birth and his family depends on him financially. He could also be a witness in a potential corruption case, she said.
A similar scenario occurred to another DACA recipient during the first Trump administration.
In early 2018, a UC San Diego student accidentally crossed the border while returning from a shopping mall in San Ysidro. He was arrested at the border on his way back but was released from immigration custody days later.
Pedro Ríos, director of the U.S.-Mexico program at the American Friends Service Committee, said that amid the Trump administration’s current crackdown on immigration, anyone who is not a citizen could be subject to questioning or detention.
Last month, a DACA recipient who is deaf and mute was arrested during a federal immigration raid at the car wash where he worked, the Los Angeles Times reported. He was released on bond after being detained for weeks in Texas despite having proper documentation.
“DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country,” McLaughlin said in her statement. “Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation.”