New reporting on the detention of Juan Sebastian Chavez Velasco again highlights how attacks on DACA recipients traumatize families, children, and the U.S. workforce

WASHINGTON, D.C. —The recent detention of a DACA recipient in Texas is underscoring the real-world consequences of current immigration enforcement actions and the growing risks facing DACA recipients across the country.

Juan Sebastian Chavez Velasco, a DACA recipient and medical laboratory scientist in Texas, has been detained for nearly a month and could now face deportation despite having an active status and valid work authorization at the time of his arrest. He was taken into custody while driving to give milk to his baby in the NICU, even though his DACA was active and his renewal had already been submitted.

His detention and threat of deportation has left his wife alone caring for their three U.S. citizen children, including a newborn in a neonatal intensive care unit. This is exactly the type of family DACA was created to protect, and cases like this show how current policies are targeting people who are working, raising children, and contributing to their communities.

Pulling a healthcare worker out of his job and separating him from his family during a medical crisis is inhumane, destabilizes families, weakens local economies, and once again displays the last thing this administration needs is tens of billions more for ICE and CBP, on top of the $150 billion they already have. 

Lawmakers across the Senate and House used a series of events yesterday to raise urgent concerns about the human and economic consequences of current immigration enforcement actions. They highlighted the real impact on DACA recipients and their families, including parents being taken from their children, workers being pulled out of their jobs, and communities losing people they rely on every day.

At a Senate spotlight forum convened by Sen. Dick Durbin titled “The Kids Are Not Alright: How Mass Deportation is Traumatizing Children,” witnesses detailed how enforcement actions are affecting both immigrant and U.S. citizen children. A clinical psychologist, educators, and directly impacted students from Chicago and Minnesota shared firsthand accounts of what children are experiencing as a result of current policies. Their testimony underscored the lasting emotional and developmental harm caused by enforcement in schools and communities, where children are increasingly exposed to fear, instability, and disruption.

House Democrats also held a joint press conference condemning the Department of Homeland Security for targeting and removing DACA recipients. Members pointed to confirmed reports that nearly 200 DACA recipients have been detained and at least 80 deported since the start of the administration’s second term. They warned that these actions are targeting individuals who have been vetted, are authorized to work, and are deeply embedded in the U.S. workforce.

“This is outrageous, and we are going to make sure that these attacks against DACA recipients—people who are raising families, working in critical industries and contributing to the country that is their home—will not happen in darkness,” said Todd Schulte, President of FWD.us. “It’s critical to highlight the incredible contributions of DACA recipients and these efforts, designed to stay under the radar, to weaken DACA without political blowback. We will keep bringing all of this to light.”

The events this week and continued attacks on DACA recipients reinforce a clear reality: immigration enforcement is not an abstract policy debate. It is affecting children in classrooms, parents in the workforce, and communities that rely on their contributions every day.