An undocumented immigrant asylum seeker from Santa Ana who was taken into ICE custody during an immigration check-in has returned to the country he left three years ago.
Esmerlyn De Jesus Peralta and his American girlfriend Ashley Wang spoke with NBCLA from the Dominican Republic, where Peralta was flown last week after 54 days in ICE custody. Wang visited him for the first time since the deportation.
“He was doing everything by the book to try to have a path to permanent residency,” Wang said.
Peralta who is staying with family in Santo Domingo, said he is happy about Wang’s visit to the Caribbean island nation, but said the last two months were a nightmare.
ICE confirmed that Peralta was issued final deportation orders after missing a court date shortly after the CBP One app he was using for court scheduling stopped working. The new administration disabled the Biden-era online appointment app after taking office in January and told people using it to leave immediately.
More than 900,000 people were allowed into the United States using the CBP One app since January 2023. The app was launched to expand legal pathways to enter the United States in an attempt to discourage illegal border crossings.
CBP One users in the United States were generally allowed to remain for two years with authorization to work under a presidential authority called parole. Wang said Peralta, who was working as a groundskeeper, has valid work permit, a social security number and no criminal record.
Wang showed NBCLA Peralta’s work permit and social security card.
Esmerlyn De Jesus Peralta, an undocumented asylum seeker from the Dominican Republic, is on the verge of deportation after he was detained by ICE during what he believed was a routine check-in with immigration officials in Santa Ana. Mekahlo Medina reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on March 20, 2025.
Federal authorities said termination notices were sent to CBP One beneficiaries. People who used the app were urged to self-deport using the same app, which was renamed CBP Home.
Peralta said immigration authorities told him to report to the Santa Ana office Feb. 13. When he arrived, he was told he missed a Jan. 22 detention hearing, which he said he was not aware of because the CBP One app was disabled.
Peralta tried to appeal his detention, citing the discontinuation of the app, but each appeal failed. Peralta spent time in three different detention centers before he was finally deported back to the Dominican Republic, the country he fled due to gang violence.
“After exhausting all his due process, there was no legal basis to allow De Jesus to remain in the U.S.” ICE told NBCLA.
Wang said it could be years before Peralta, who is with his family, is ever allowed back into the United States.
“We are still determined to be together,” Wang said.
[publish_date
