A DACA recipient was detained by ICE while taking breast milk to his premature baby in a hospital NICU.
Since January 2025, ICE has detained over 260 DACA recipients and deported more than 80.
The arrests signal a shift toward more aggressive enforcement against Dreamers, even those without criminal records.
The incident highlights the human impact of immigration policy and creates uncertainty for all DACA recipients.
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in early 2025 while he was delivering breast milk to his premature infant daughter in a hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), highlighting a controversial enforcement shift under the new administration. The arrest occurred as part of a broader ICE operation that has targeted DACA recipients, individuals commonly known as "Dreamers," who were brought to the United States illegally as children but had been granted temporary protection from deportation and work authorization under the Obama-era policy.
The incident has sparked outrage among immigrant rights advocates and drawn attention to a reported policy change since January 2025. According to reporting by Lisa Desjardins, ICE has detained more than 260 DACA recipients and deported over 80 in the first months of the year. While DACA status can be revoked for serious criminal convictions, advocates argue that many of those recently detained, like the father visiting the NICU, have clean records and are being swept up in a more aggressive enforcement posture that disregards the program's original humanitarian intent.
The case underscores the profound personal consequences of immigration enforcement, separating a parent from a critically ill newborn. It also raises significant legal and policy questions about the stability of protections for nearly 600,000 current DACA recipients. The future of the program remains in legal limbo, facing ongoing court challenges, while simultaneous enforcement actions create a climate of fear and uncertainty for Dreamers who have built their lives in the U.S.
United States immigration policy that protects certain undocumented immigrants
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals who, on June 15, 2012, were physically present in the United States with no lawful immigration status after having entered the country as children at least five years earlier, to receive ...
A neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), a.k.a. an intensive care nursery (ICN), is an intensive care unit (ICU) specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants. The NICU is divided into several areas, including a critical care area for babies who require close monitoring and intervention...
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. Its stated mission is to conduct criminal investigations, enforce immigration laws, preserve national security, and protect public safety. ICE was ...
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is a program created to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. as children. But since January 2025, ICE has detained more than 260 DACA recipients and deported more than 80. Although there are reasons why "Dreamers" could be deported, many who have done nothing wrong are getting caught up. Lisa Desjardins reports.
