On the morning of May 14, a hardworking father and owner of his own construction company fell into the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents along with his employees just as they were carrying out a large-scale operation in Charlotte.
José Martínez was driving his white van along Central Avenue when he was intercepted by two unmarked ICE vehicles. He and three other immigrants working for him were detained.
“My father was taken away from his family when immigration stopped him and his coworkers for racial profiling"All they did was go to work to earn money and support their families, but they were targeted. Because my father had a work truck, they arrested him," said Joanna Martinez, 22, one of the Mexican immigrant's daughters.
Fundraising to pay for a lawyer
When Martínez met Joanna's mother, she already had four children, whom he later adopted. With her, he had seven more children, including Joanna.
“My father is the head of our household; he takes care of all of us no matter what. Anyone who has met my father can tell you he's the sweetest and most loving man, and a hard worker as well. He's known in Charlotte as one of the best sheet rockers in the city,” the daughter said.
Now his family has organized a fundraiser on Gofundme, with the goal of raising $5,500 to pay for a lawyer and fight for Martínez's freedom and return home.
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Nearly 30 years in the country and no criminal record
On Monday, May 19, following a week-long immigration operation in Charlotte, the organization Collective Community held a press conference to talk about the operation, in which Joanna was present and was able to tell her father what had happened.
The young woman said her father has lived in the country for nearly three decades and has a clean criminal record, with only a citation for driving without a license in 2008.
Joanna said that on the morning her father was arrested, he was questioned about his immigration status by ICE agents.
The young woman shared a TikTok video on her Facebook account showing the arrest of Martínez and his employees.
Navigating a broken system
“The hours and days that have followed have been agony, we have desperately tried to navigate a broken immigration system, an unresponsive immigration system that makes find a loved one is almost impossible,” he said.
Joanna said that the weekend following her arrest, she traveled six hours to the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, to see her father.
"My father and his workers are being held there, along with many of our neighbors. Since his arrest, I've had trouble sleeping, tormented by the thought that they left him without food for days and that he's suffering while he's detained," the young woman said at the press conference.
“For the first time in my life, I saw my father cry. The man who had always been our rock, our provider, was reduced to tears, and it broke our hearts,” Joanna added between sobs.
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Large-scale ICE operation
According to Comunidad Colectiva, which has a dedicated line for people to call to report immigration agent activity and a group of volunteers who verify the information, received more than 133 calls that week.
“We do not know the exact number of arrests, but we know the number is high, and the way it happened worries us extremely,” said Stefania Arteaga, founder of the organization.
ICE confirmed on social media that it was conducting a large-scale operation in the Charlotte and Atlanta areas during the week of May 12, but has not yet disclosed how many people were detained.
If you would like to help the Martinez family
If you would like to help the Martinez family, you can visit the Gofundme site at “Support José Martínez's Legal Battle for Freedom”, where $3,422 of the $5,500 goal has already been raised to date.
Where to report ICE activity
To report ICE operations and actions in the Charlotte area, you can call the Collective Community line at 704-740-7737.
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