MIAMI (AP) — Jesus Lopez says he feels like a stranger in the place he was born.

He's from Guadalajara, Mexico, but his life was in Chicago. After 15 years in the city, he was deported a year ago during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I want to go back because I belong there, that's where I have my friends, my family," said the 25-year-old, once a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that gives protections to immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

Lopez, who said he didn't renew his spot in the program because he couldn't afford it, hopes to benefit from new efforts by...