‘Dreamer’ father misses son’s birth after deportation: ‘Great sense of grief’

José Contreras Diaz is one of hundreds of thousands of “Dreamers” who are in legal limbo as the Trump administration continues its attacks on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

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Last year, Contreras Diaz was arrested at an immigration appointment in Texas and deported to Honduras, a country he left when he was 8 years old. While the 30-year-old was flown back to his home state and later released by immigration authorities, his future remains uncertain. 

“Imagine the agony of being torn apart from the life you know, handcuffed, placed on a plane, dropped off in a country you don’t know, you barely remember,” Contreras Diaz told MS NOW’s “The Weekend: Primetime” on Sunday. 

While he was in Honduras, Contreras Diaz said he felt a “great sense of grief and powerlessness” and was “robbed of foundational moments with his family,” including the birth of his son, Matteo.

“There’s a lingering void that’s left behind in our hearts,” he said.

Along with the emotional toll his deportation took on his family, Contreras Diaz told MS NOW it also cost him his job.

“My family’s financial status is in shambles,” he said. “We’re just trying to recuperate, get everything back on track.”

During his first term, President Donald Trump attempted to terminate the DACA program, which provides temporary relief from deportation and work authorization for immigrants brought into the U.S. as children, but it was struck down by the Supreme Court. While he has not taken such action since he returned to the White House, the administration has deliberately slow-walked DACA renewals and targeted recipients of the Obama-era program as part of its immigration crackdown.