Man, DACA recipient, deported to Mexico as he was returning to Kansas City
By Sam Hartle
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KSHB) — The status of a Roeland Park man deported to Mexico last month is up in the air as a Kansas City-based immigration attorney battles for his return in federal court.
Evenezer Cortez Martinez, a father who is a DACA recipient, had traveled to Mexico City to be with family after his grandfather died.
His travel back to Kansas City included a flight stopover on March 23 at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, where he was questioned by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials, who then deported Cortez Martinez back to Mexico.
His family has launched a GoFundMe as part of a legal campaign to win his right to return to the Kansas City area.
“My father has always been an important part of our family, providing support and love throughout our lives,” his daughter Ashley Ruiz posted online. “His deportation has not only been a devastating emotional blow, but it’s also creating a significant financial burden.”
On April 2, local immigration rights attorney Rekha Sharma-Crawford and Texas-based attorney Amy Hsu filed an immigration lawsuit against the USCBP and the Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. District Court of Northern Texas.
As part of the filing, Cortez Martinez’s attorneys made a motion for a temporary restraining order of the government’s actions.
The judge in the case initially gave the federal government until Friday, April 4, to file its response to the motion.
The government’s attorneys filed a request on Friday for an extension of time to file their response. The judge agreed but only gave them until Tuesday, April 8.
In the meantime, the case has drawn the interest of Kansas Rep. Rui Xu (D-25th District), who represents Roeland Park.
“This father grew up here. He went to school here. His kids go to school here,” Xu posted Monday on social media. “He contributed, he belonged, and he dared to believe that America was his home — because it was.”
Attorneys representing Cortez Martinez, who worked as a painter in the Shawnee Mission School District, say he had applications approved through Oct. 22, 2026.
For his travel, his attorneys claim in the lawsuit that he possessed his approved DACA application and an advanced parole document legally valid through April 14, 2025.
When his flight from Mexico City arrived in Dallas, he presented his documents to immigration officials, who placed him in secondary inspection and asked Cortez Martinez questions.
The lawsuit alleges that following the interview, a CBP officer denied Cortez Martinez entry, indicating that he was “inadmissible to the United States pursuant to section 212(a)(7)(A)(i)(I) of the INA as an immigrant without an immigrant visa based on the fact that (he had been) ordered removed in absentia on June 11, 2024.”
The lawsuit alleges CBP officers determined Cortez Martinez’s advanced parole document “was issued in error,” subjecting him to expedited removal.
His attorneys say Cortez Martinez was not offered any hearing or opportunity to contest the CBP’s findings.
“The Beacon Kansas City” spoke to Cortez Martinezover the phone last week. Cortez Martinez told them he tried to request an attorney but was told he didn’t have that option.
Cortez Martinez was escorted to another flight and returned to Mexico City the same day.
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