[email protected]

As anti-immigration policies and masked militant groups continue to be aided by Trump’s administration, it was inevitable that more Nebraskans would be affected.  As part of the ongoing deportation efforts across the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities detained Kearney resident and restaurant owner Carlos Godinez on March 24. The 47-year-old has been ordered to be deported to Guatemala, where he lived before coming to the United States at 10 years old.

Godinez has been an active member of the local Kearney community for decades, founding the Nebraska Cultural Unity Conference while he was a student at UNK. He also owns Nick’s Gyros, a business he has operated for more than 15 years. Community members and supporters gathered ahead of his hearing, with thousands signing a petition advocating for him to remain in the country. 

It was not effective, though, as on April 2 immigration judge Abby Meyer of Omaha ordered he be deported, during what his sister Rose Godinez said was a less-than-15-minute-long hearing. Meyer, according to non–profit TRAC Immigration, has a denial rate of 91.1% for asylum seekers, 33.4% higher than judges across the country in the same time span.

Throughout the proceedings, Godinez has been held in Hall County Jail. Court records show he had previously been on probation related to a driver’s license violation, which immigration officials used in part to justify his detention.

Godinez had a brief virtual discussion with his family, including two sons, after the hearing.

“He told them, ‘I’m an entrepreneur. I’m going to build my life again in Guatemala. This is not the end, I will see you again,” his attorney told the Nebraska Examiner. 

Rose said the outcome has been difficult for the family, especially given their long history in Nebraska. She worked for the American Civil Liberties Union as an immigration attorney and has acted as his advocate throughout the process. Godinez’s youngest brother is currently enrolled at Columbia University seeking his doctorate. 

“We feel quite a bit of anxiety not knowing what comes next,” Rose said following the hearing. “He can’t wait to see and hug his kids, even if it’s on the other side of the border.”

Godinez remains in custody awaiting deportation proceedings with no timeline for when he will be returned to Guatemala.

Outside of the limits of Nebraska, his deportation represents more than a single community member being removed from the country. 

President Trump continues to seek the systemic alienation of immigrants who have spent their lives in the United States, regardless of societal or economic impact on the surrounding community. Similar to his sweeping executive order to deny citizenship for children of undocumented people, the use of ICE and the judicial deportation system as terror agents is another tactic to delegitimize immigrants within the United States. With the recent No Kings mass protest last week showing minimal results, American liberalism continues to pose itself as a fascist stepping stone, unwilling to undergo radical change.