Mexican-American Judge Trump Insulted Now to Hear DACA Deportation Case

U.S. President Donald Trump once referred to Judge Gonzalo Curiel as a Mexican, and questioned his ability to judge a case against Trump University impartially because of his heritage.

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"We´re building a wall. He's Mexican," Trump said, adding, "we're building a wall between here and Mexico." Ultimately Trump agreed to settle in both judicial cases, paying the plaintiffs a total of $25 million.

Now, Judge Curiel is tasked with hearing the case of Juan Manuel Montes, the first Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient to be detained and deported to Mexico by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. According to USA Today, Montes' case was scheduled to be heard by Judge Curiel and that the assignment was merely a coincidence as judges are chosen based on a rotating docket.

Montes' deportation sparked controversy over the application of U.S. immigration laws by President Trump's administration. DACA recipients are protected under law from deportation unless they're convicted of a crime or leave the U.S. without obtaining prior authorization from Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Associated Press reports that in 2014 Montes received DACA protection and renewed his status in 2016. However, this status was revoked when he left the country without permission. Montes' attorney argues that his deportation should be overturned since he was illegally detained and deported by CBP and did not voluntarily leave the country.

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Montes said that he was walking to a taxi in Calexico, California, when CBP officials approached him. Not having identification, he was taken into custody and transferred to a border patrol station where he was forced to sign deportation documents without being provided an attorney or seeing an immigration judge. Montes also stated that he was not given copies of the documents he was forced to sign.

The AP reported that Montes' DACA status had expired. However, they later admitted that he would have been eligible to remain in the U.S. under the program until 2018.