Man who claimed to be first 'Dreamer' deported under Trump arrested again for allegedly trying to enter US

FILE: Juan Manuel Montes, 23, claims to be the first “Dreamer” to be deported under the Trump administration (Juan Gastelum/National Immigration Law Center via AP, File)

A man who claimed to be the first “Dreamer” to be deported under the Trump administration was arrested again for attempting to return to the U.S. for the second time this year, authorities said Wednesday.

Juan Manuel Montes, 23, was taken into custody near Calexico, Calif., for illegally re-entering the U.S. late Monday night, the U.S. Border Patrol said.

Montes was spotted by agents just north of a border fence, and allegedly ran from them for about 200 yards before lying down. He then attempted to get up again and run, but was quickly caught, the Border Patrol said.

Montes was booked into the Imperial County Jail and faces a felony charge that could land him in jail for two years, according to USA Today.

Montes’ lawyers have claimed that their client was the first-known participant in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to be deported under President Trump. The U.S. has denied that, saying that Montes left the country voluntarily causing him to lose his protected status under the DACA program.

Montes, who came to the United States when he was nine, has a cognitive disability that likely stems from a childhood brain injury, according to his lawyers.

Montes attempted to enter the U.S. in February days he claimed the Trump administration deported him to Mexico, according to USA Today. The Border Patrol caught him trying to scale a fence.

“Border Patrol Agents will always stop, detain, and arrest anyone making an illegal entry into the country irrespective of their immigration or citizenship status,” the agency said.

The DACA program gave work permits and deportation protection to nearly 800,000 illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.

The Trump administration announced in September the program was ending.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.