The family of a man arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in east Charlotte this month says he had lived in the U.S. for nearly three decades with no criminal record.
Jose Martinez was driving his van to work earlier this month when ICE agents stopped him on Central Avenue in east Charlotte. The agents questioned and then detained him, along with three other co-workers.
His daughter, 22-year-old Joanna Martinez, says her dad moved to the U.S. from Mexico nearly 30 years ago. She says he’s known as one of the city’s best sheet rockers, and he raised 11 kids, four of whom he informally adopted.
“He wasn’t a stepfather, he stepped into that position and became their father," Joanna Martinez said. "It’s 11 of us. He always made sure we had everything. Even if he doesn’t have money for food, if we needed money for food, if we needed money for anything, he made sure we had that.”
The Trump administration says it’s detaining and deporting undocumented criminals and gang members, but Martinez says her father had a clean record. Court records show he only received a citation for driving without a license in 2008.
“My dad always follows the law," Martinez said. "We even make fun of him because we’re just like ‘you're going on speed limit.’ Whenever they go out to Don Pedro [restaurant], my dad makes sure my mom knows she’s the designated driver because she doesn’t drink. Every little thing he tries to do correctly.”
The morning after he was detained by ICE, Martinez tried to call his family at about 1 a.m., but the call didn’t go through. They later learned he was about 100 miles away at the Alamance County Detention Center. By the next day, he had been transferred to Stewart Detention Center in southwest Georgia.
“Since his detention, I have struggled to sleep, tormented by the thought that he was left unfed for days and is suffering while being detained," Martinez said.
When the family visited Martinez that weekend, he said he had been handcuffed in a cell and went without food for two days, until he arrived in Georgia.
“For the first time in my life, I saw my father cry," Martinez said. "The man who had always been our rock, our provider, was reduced to tears, and it shattered our hearts.”
His story reflects what the families of many undocumented people in Charlotte are facing, as immigration enforcement intensifies across the city. The Carolina Migrant Network says it received over 130 tips reporting ICE sightings in just one week.
ICE declined to provide additional details about the arrest or its operations at large. For now, Martinez has legal representation, and his family is doing everything possible to bring him home.
“We're just hoping for the best," Martinez said. "And we're praying. And we know everyone is keeping our family in their prayers, and we know no matter what happens, God has my dad's back."
