For the past month, Kern Sol News has been visiting several detainees at Mesa Verde ICE Detention Center in Bakersfield. Some of these detainees have one thing in common: they were detained by ICE during routine check-ins. 

For years, immigrants in California who fled violence and persecution have been following the rules. These individuals had been living openly in their communities, complying with immigration rules, and showing up for scheduled check-ins. But instead of continuing with their legal processes, they were suddenly detained,  some without warning and placed on a path toward deportation.

One of those individuals was Melvin Gomez, a 41-year-old husband, father of three, and small business owner from San Rafael, California. Gomez was detained at a routine check-in in San Francisco in early June and transferred to the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility in Bakersfield. His detention left his family without income and caused a steep decline in his physical and mental health. After more than a month in ICE custody, he was deported in July.

A week before a judge signed off on his deportation, Gomez had received an interview request for asylum. He was very optimistic and hopeful about his chances. He had a court hearing scheduled for the following Tuesday but instead of allowing the process to unfold, the judge denied his request and approved his deportation.

He had no criminal record.

For two days, Gomez’s family had no idea where he was. His wife received a call at 2 a.m., with Gomez on the other end saying, “ICE is here to deport me,” and that he was being told to gather his belongings. He had vanished without warning, and his family received no information about his whereabouts. It wasn’t until several days later, after he arrived in Guatemala, that he was finally able to contact them.

Gomez had built a life in the U.S. since arriving from Guatemala at age 14, fleeing from violence, including a traumatic kidnapping and the murder of a family member by gangs. Years ago, he said he was kidnapped by a gang, tortured, and filmed while being held captive. The video was sent to his father along with a demand for ransom. Upon seeing the footage, Gomez’s father suffered a fatal heart attack and passed away.

Over the years, he worked his way from fast food jobs to launching his own contracting business and raising a family. 

Despite that trauma, Gomez built a new life in California. He worked his way up from fast food jobs to launching his own contracting business. He raised a family and complied with every legal requirement.

Now, his sudden deportation has left his wife and children devastated. 

Another man currently detained at Mesa Verde who spoke with Kern Sol News was taken into custody during what was supposed to be an immigration appointment in Fresno. A 38-year-old father of two U.S.-born teenagers, he arrived in the U.S. as a teen and has lived most of his life in California.

He had gone to ICE seeking help with paperwork and brought no belongings, assuming it would be a routine visit. Instead, he was detained on the spot and transferred to Mesa Verde, where he has remained for over five weeks. He was told by a judge he would be deported sometime early August. 

Originally from Mexico, he believed his father had successfully filed for his citizenship in 2003, but after his father was incarcerated and died suddenly of a heart attack, the paperwork was lost. Since then, he has tried to re-establish his legal status but has struggled without documentation. He now plans to return to live with his mother in Durango, Mexico.

Prior to his detention, he worked in concrete construction with his brother-in-law and completed a rehabilitation program. He shared that he has spoken to his children about visiting him in Mexico after deportation.

According to Jeannie Parent, youth coordinator with the Center for Community & Environmental Justice (CCEJ), stories like Gomez’s are no longer rare.

“I’ve been doing this work for ten years, and I never saw people being detained at ICE check-ins until the last six months,” Parent told Kern Sol News. “Now it’s happening all the time. No one is safe.”

Parent regularly visits immigrants detained at Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex, offering support through pen pal programs, supply kits, and emergency funds for phone calls and legal help. She’s noticed a steep drop in the number of people being released and a sharp increase in those being detained without warning.

“These are asylum seekers who’ve been living here, following the rules, working, checking in regularly,” she said. “It used to be that they could fight their case from inside detention or sometimes get bond and fight their case outside. Now they’re being picked up at check-ins and deported with no warning, no due process.”

Parent explained that many of the individuals now detained were initially released with surveillance ankle monitors or tracking apps. They complied with all expectations while awaiting their immigration hearings.

“It used to be you’d get a master hearing, then your individual hearing, and your case would move forward. Now, at the check-in, they’re just taken. A lot of them have only been here a year or two, which makes them vulnerable to expedited removal even if they came legally.”

She said many asylum seekers arrive at the U.S. border, immediately ask for protection, and are given credible fear interviews. If granted, they are legally allowed to stay while fighting their case and may even receive work permits.

“But now ICE is detaining them anyway,” Parent said. “And it’s devastating families.”

She described one visit with a woman from Nicaragua who had lived in the U.S. for nearly two years and was detained at her check-in. After the visit, Parent saw the woman’s two sons in the lobby both in their late teens or early twenties.

“One of the young men couldn’t even speak. He was so choked up,” she said. “His mom had told him it might be goodbye. She was so traumatized by being locked up even though she’d never committed a crime that she didn’t think she could survive it again.”

Parent said she’s also seen people who were previously released during the Biden administration now being detained again without any new charges or violations. One man she had met in detention years ago was re-detained, and deported shortly after.

Parent said before January she would receive weekly requests to help newly released detainees, but now she said she’s now only seen two since January.

“We are watching due process disappear in real time,” Parent said. “This is a civil rights crisis, and it’s happening right here, in our backyard.”