Featured Image Credit: ABC 10NEWS
Topics: Court, Donald Trump, Politics, US News
Maxine Harrison
A US citizen has recalled his shock when he received an unexpected deportation email saying he has to leave the US in seven days.
Born and raised in California, Aldo Martinez-Gomez received a notice on April 11 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), threatening him with 'criminal prosecution' if he didn’t leave the country within seven days.
The email sent to Martinez-Gomez included terrifying warnings such as: “DHS is now exercising its discretion to terminate your parole. Unless it expires sooner, your parole will terminate 7 days from the date of this notice.”
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The letter continued: “If you do not depart the United States immediately, you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions that will result in your removal from the United States - unless you have otherwise obtained a lawful basis to remain here.”
The shocking final line of the email ended with a direct threat: "Do not attempt to remain in the United States - the federal government will find you. Please depart the United States immediately."
Martinez-Gomez was, of course, surprised to see the message.
Speaking to ABC 10NEWS, he said: "I do get nervous because I don’t want to be an error with so many errors that this administration has made. And they have been talking about deporting US citizens, so it is a concern because that means I’m on their radar”.
Since returning to office for his second term of presidency in January, Donald Trump has been cracking down on immigration in the US, with him revoking the legal status' of 530,000 migrants who came to the country under a humanitarian parole program.
There have also been talks about deporting convicted US citizens.
However, a senior DHS official sent a statement on the situation acknowledging that some notices could have been sent out by mistake: "Notices may have been sent to unintended recipients. CBP is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis."
The most ironic thing about Aldo’s situation is that he works full-time for a non-profit. He thinks that his work advocating for immigrants in this way could have prompted him to be on the government’s radar.
"I believe I received it because I'm an accredited representative, and I represent immigrants, and I advocate for immigrants' rights in the court," he added.
"I'm not seeking fame or attention, I just want to bring light to this issue because I'm not trying to be one of the government's mistakes," Aldo further told KTLA.
And it looks like Martinez-Gomez is not the only one who has received these unwelcome emails from DHS recently.
A Massachusetts immigration attorney also reported receiving a similar email in recent weeks.