A Horizon City father of four was released from a New Mexico immigration detention center Wednesday, hours after the Trump administration said it wouldn’t oppose the release of the 28-year-old who was protected from deportation through an executive order from President Barack Obama.
Paulo Cesar Gamez Lira was apprehended Aug. 13 in the driveway of his Horizon City home as he was preparing to take his 3-month-old baby to the doctor. Three cars blocked him in and he was taken into custody by seven men in plainclothes, some masked and carrying weapons. He was held at a private Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Otero County, New Mexico, until his release Wednesday evening.
“I’m overwhelmed with joy and relief,” said Alejandra, Gamez Lira’s wife, in a statement. “Paulo belongs with our family, not in a detention center. This has been the most difficult time of our lives, but we never lost hope that justice would prevail.”
U.S. District Judge William P. Johnson of Albuquerque ordered Gamez Lira’s release. He was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and the Singleton Schreiber law firm.
“Detaining Paulo Cesar Gamez Lira was not only unnecessary, it was unlawful, and it inflicted needless harm on him and his family. Today’s outcome reaffirms that constitutional protections are not optional, and we hope it serves as a warning that such abuses cannot and will not stand,” Alex Flores, senior counsel at Singleton Schreiber, said in a statement.
Department of Homeland Security officials have publicly said that the Obama-era policy known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals doesn’t automatically provide protection from deportation. But lawyers representing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump administration officials made no such argument in court filings in the Gamez Lira case.
“Respondents do not oppose the central relief sought by Petitioner, release from custody,” Ryan Ellison, the acting U.S. attorney for New Mexico, said in a court filing Wednesday.
DHS officials did not respond to questions from El Paso Matters about why Gamez Lira was apprehended and held for 42 days, and why the government agreed to his release.
“We are relieved that Paulo is finally home with his wife and their 3-month-old baby, but he should never have been taken from them in the first place. Paulo took the government at their word when he applied, paid for, and received protection as a DACA recipient. That legal status was ignored, and he was wrongfully detained like so many others across this country,” said Marisa Limón Garza, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, which provided legal assistance to Gamez Lira.
“His case is a stark reminder of the urgent need to protect DACA recipients and immigrant families from wrongful targeting. This outcome would not have been possible without the power of advocacy and the tireless voices who demanded Paulo’s freedom. We will continue to fight for permanent protections so that families like Paulo’s can live with the security and dignity they deserve,” she said.
“Today’s victory belongs not just to Paulo and his family, but to all Dreamers who deserve to live without fear in the only country they’ve ever called home,” said Becca Sheff, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of New Mexico. “This case shows that the government absolutely should refrain from detaining DACA recipients, and we are grateful that swift legal action here has resulted in Paulo being reunited with his loved ones.”
Implemented in 2012, DACA provides temporary protection from deportation for individuals who were brought to the United States as children. Under the Trump administration, DACA recipients can apply to renew their status and work authorization, but new applications are no longer being processed.
Gamez Lira was brought as an infant to the United States from Mexico by his parents. He received DACA protection around 2014 and has been granted renewals since – most recently from August 2024 to August 2026.
Another DACA recipient from El Paso County, Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago, 28, remains in ICE custody, even though an immigration judge terminated deportation proceedings against her Sept. 9.
The Trump administration has opposed efforts by Santiago’s attorneys to release her from the ICE detention facility near El Paso International Airport. Many filings in the case are not accessible to the general public, which is typical in cases where a detainee is seeking what is known as a writ of habeas corpus.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone, who is hearing Santiago’s petition for release, on Tuesday extended a temporary restraining order that prohibits the government from deporting her or removing her from the Western District of Texas. The original order was going to expire Tuesday, but Cardone extended it to Oct. 7
Santiago, who has lived in the United States since she was 8 years old, obtained DACA protection in 2012. Her DACA grant is valid through April 2026. The arrest of the community organizer sparked protests demanding her release.
She was arrested Aug. 3 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents as she prepared to board a flight at El Paso International Airport.
The post Horizon City father of 4 released from ICE detention after Trump administration backs down appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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