Esteban Rios Sosa and his wife, Luisa Rodriguez, were first stopped at a Camp Pendleton gate in September 2025 while trying to visit their pregnant daughter, who is married to a Marine, with their son Steve Rios, also a Marine. They were briefly detained, fitted with ankle monitors and told to check in with ICE weeks later; when they returned to the federal building in San Diego, agents detained them again, deporting Rios Sosa to Mexico within a day while Rodriguez was sent to Otay Mesa Detention Center. Both held pending U visa applications that USCIS had deemed bona fide, along with deferred action and work permits, though the agency said annual visa caps delayed approval; Rodriguez was released after about three weeks once an immigration judge recognized her deferred status. During nearly a year in Mexico, Rios Sosa said he feared being kidnapped and struggled with depression, while attorney Monika Langarica of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law filed suit in July arguing his due process rights were violated. U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino agreed, ruling he was deported without notice or a hearing and ordering his immediate return; he crossed back into the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry to reunite with his family, return to his job cleaning cars, and meet his new grandchild.