taken to the Calexico border station and questioned along with other undocumented immigrants. At about 1 a.m., Montes said, he and others were driven to the border, told to get out of the car and instructed to start walking.

"I could tell that was the way to Mexicali," Montes said, referring to the Mexican city just across the border. "I listened to him. I didn't think I had a choice. I knew he was kicking me out of the country, but I didn't know why."

When Montes' lawyers filed the lawsuit in April, they wrote that Montes was first detained by immigration agents "on or about February 17." After interviewing witnesses and checking his cell phone records, they identified that he was detained on Feb. 18 and deported early inthe morning on Feb. 19.

Ever since he was deported, Montes has been living with relatives in western Mexico. In an April interview with USA TODAY, he said he was eager to get back home to continue his education and reunite with his family. And he said he was still shocked that he had fallen victim to Trump's deportation machine.

"Some people told me that they were going to deport me; others said nothing would happen," Montes said at the time. "I thought that if I kept my nose clean nothing would happen."