DHS Accused of Deporting Green Cardholder's Husband Without Court Order

A Mexican national who has lived in the United States for nearly two decades is seeking a federal judge's intervention to return to the country. According to his petition, Ernesto Zuniga Hilario was deported without a valid removal order and without the opportunity to challenge the government's legal basis for his deportation. ICE detained him in Texas in September, and he was subsequently removed to Mexico without a proper hearing.

Zuniga Hilario's attorneys filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. The Department of Homeland Security has responded, stating that any allegation that Hilario did not receive due process is false, claiming that he voluntarily departed on September 6 and returned to Mexico on September 16.

However, Hilario's attorneys argue that he repeatedly declined voluntary departure and expected to appear before an immigration judge.

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