A California woman who had lived in the United States for 27 years returned home this week after a federal judge ordered the government to reverse her deportation to Mexico.

Maria de Jesús Estrada Juárez, 42, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on February 18 when she appeared for an immigration hearing in Sacramento and was deported the following day. Estrada Juárez had been protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program since 2013.

The deportation was based on a 1998 removal order issued when Estrada Juárez was a teenager, shortly after she arrived in the United States. She was sent to Mexico at that time but returned to the U.S. weeks later. Federal officials reinstated the 1998 order in February after her arrest.

U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins issued a temporary restraining order on March 23, giving the federal government seven days to facilitate Estrada Juárez's return. The judge wrote that the deportation was a violation of her DACA protections and infringed upon her due process rights. Estrada Juárez's attorney argued she was unaware of the 1998 order and that it was not final.

Estrada Juárez reunited with her 22-year-old daughter Monday night after spending several weeks with relatives in Mexico. At a news conference Tuesday in Sacramento, she described the separation as one of the most painful experiences of her life, saying she did not get to say goodbye before her deportation.

The Department of Homeland Security defended the deportation and criticized the judge's ruling. A department spokesperson said ICE follows all court orders but called the decision "yet another ruling from a Biden-appointed activist judge." Immigration advocates say the case highlights broader concerns about the current administration's immigration enforcement practices.