DACA recipient detained after making a wrong turn at the border

(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A DACA recipient will likely be deported after his attorney says he made an honest mistake, which was a wrong turn at the border.

A few years ago, Nancy Rivera had two young daughters, was in school and didn't know how to drive.

A friend introduced her to Erick Hernandez, saying he could give her a ride to her classes. In the car, they fell in love.

"He showed me that, 'You know, I know you have family already, but I'm here to support you,'" Rivera expressed.

They welcomed another daughter and got married last fall.

She's an American citizen and he's a DACA recipient brought to the U.S. from El Salvador 20 years ago when he was 14.

He's a rideshare driver and was taking passengers from L.A. to the border in San Ysidro when he missed his exit and ended up in Tijuana.

"And when that happened, he lost everything basically," said Valerie Sigamani, Hernandez's attorney, who says with DACA, you need prior approval to leave the U.S.

When he tried to come back, she says the Americans at the border asked him for a bribe.

"One of the officials told him, 'Well, if you pay us $800, we'll forgive everything and we'll let you into the United States with no problem,' Sigamani shared.

Without any cash, she says Hernandez was placed in expedited removal. He's now at Otay Mesa Detention Center, with an order of deportation.

"So, it's really hard to see somebody who doesn't know a life outside of the United States, possibly be deported to El Salvador," Sigamani remarked.

That leaves his wife caring for their three kids alone, just weeks before the birth of their son.

"And then like me being pregnant is like, 'Oh my God, I don't know what I'm gonna do tomorrow," Rivera spoke.

Hernandez's parents say this is a nightmare, a bad dream. They have legal status in the U.S. now, and they say they left El Salvador because it was corrupt there. They don't understand how this happened here.

"I'm just worried. I'm worried if he gets deported how I'm gonna manage everything by myself," Rivera said.