Feds revoke Dallas activist’s DACA status, detain him over social media posts

10/21/25 Reposted from dallasnews.com

Yaa’kub Ira Vijandre was a fixture at Dallas-area pro-Palestine protests, filming with his camera. Now, he faces deportation over social media posts the government claims glorifies terrorism.

Jacob “Yaa’kub” Ira Vijandre came to the U.S. at age 14 with his father, who had a work visa for a job as an aircraft mechanic. He later obtained legal residency status through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and has lived in North Texas since 2022.

The life he has built in Dallas is now in jeopardy, his lawyers said, because he exercised his First Amendment right to free speech. Vijandre’s DACA status was revoked last month over social media posts the government contends advocated for terrorism.

Why This Story Matters

Since taking office for his second term, Donald Trump has ramped up immigration enforcement, resulting in increased detainments of non-citizens. Many detainments have been criticized as being retaliatory for speech protected by the First Amendment, as many have had their visas revoked for comments made on social media.

Vijandre’s legal team said his case will test the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s expanding definition of terrorism.

U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement agents detained Vijandre earlier this month, one day after he filmed a Richardson City Council meeting where residents spoke out against the ICE detainment of a Dallas-area Muslim community leader. According to his legal team, six ICE vehicles arrived at his apartment and encircled him. Agents, with guns drawn, arrested him and took him to the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, near Abilene.

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