Michigan immigrant father arrested by ICE outside school after dropping off child

Yahoo

08-03-2025

On Wednesday morning, Jose Guadalupe Jaimes dropped off his son at a middle school in Trenton, his children said. Moments later, the immigrant father driving a work van was approached by three vehicles with their lights flashing. Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, some with guns drawn, hopped out to arrest Jaimes, 55, who now sits in St. Clair County Jail, the latest ICE arrest in Michigan that has unnerved immigrant advocates.
Born in Mexico, Jaimes has lived for 30 years in the U.S., starting his own painting business that supports his wife and five children. Now, they're scrambling to find out what may happen to him and how they will continue their lives without his support, both emotionally and financially. Records show Jaimes was booked in St. Clair County Jail, but with no criminal charges and an immigration hold. He appears to have no criminal record or cases pending in Wayne County courts, records show.
"We just want him back home," one of his sons, Hector Jaimes, told the Free Press. Hector is a junior at a college in Tennessee, who drove eight hours back home Wednesday after hearing of his dad's arrest from a Facebook post. "We're worried about him."
The arrest was made outside Arthur Middle School in Trenton after Jaimes had dropped off his eighth grade son, who was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a type of autism. Hector said his father had a work permit obtained a few years ago and documentation to live in the U.S.
A spokesman for ICE told the Free Press that he had been "ordered removed by an immigration judge in 2014." The spokesman said that ICE officers arrested Jaimes on Wednesday, describing him as an "an illegal alien from Mexico."
He "remains in ICE custody pending the outcome of his immigration proceedings," the ICE spokesman said.
The case will now be handled by federal immigration courts.
Jaimes and others like him are placed into removal proceedings in immigration courts that are administered by the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review, an official said. The office is an agency within the Justice Department, separate from the Department of Homeland Security, which ICE is a part of.
"My dad went to go drop off my brother to his middle school" at about 8 a.m., explained Hector, who has spoken with his father from jail after his detainment. "And he saw a truck there parked ... he turned around the corner, and that's where the three cops stopped them. Dad said, they pulled out guns on him."
Hector said the family didn't know he was detained until about 10:30 a.m. from a post on a Downriver community group on Facebook. After hearing about it, Hector drove all the way from Tennessee, where he studies at Tusculum University.
Some nearby residents went to Arthur Middle School to ask officials whether they could alert the family that Jaimes had been arrested by ICE, but they said they could not guarantee they would do that, according to Hector.
More: Policing and immigration enforcement policies in Michigan debated amid Trump's crackdown
"My brother and my sister went to the school," to ask them why the school did not notify the family he had been arrested. "They said they didn't notify us that it happened because they didn't want to assume which family it was, and then it (might) be the wrong family," Hector said.
Deborah Rhoades, principal of Arthur Middle School, and Trenton Schools Superintendent Douglas Mentzer did not return emails from the Free Press seeking comment.
The arrest of Jaimes outside a school comes at a time of debate over whether federal immigration agents should target what are called "sensitive locations" such as schools and churches. Under previous administrations, those areas were off limits for ICE, but in January after Donald Trump took office, his administration rescinded that policy. Last week, a federal judge blocked enforcement of Trump's move targeting churches. Regarding enforcement at schools, a hearing was set to be held Friday after a lawsuit was filed challenging the order.
Hector said his father's arrest brings back bad memories of his grandfather being arrested by federal agents when Hector was 5 years old.
"He took the wrong turn at the Canada bridge" entrance, Hector said, recalling boyhood memories. "My grandpa also didn't do anything (wrong criminally). ... We were just crying. ... It kind of feels like the same thing going on again, but it's our dad this time."
Hector said that he's hearing about others being arrested by immigration agents in other Downriver cities like Melvindale and Lincoln Park, and in southwest Detroit, areas with sizable immigrant communities.
State Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Trenton, said in a statement to the Free Press that he is "appalled" that Jaimes was detained by ICE.
"I just spoke with his family, and they are heartbroken," Camilleri said. "To make matters more infuriating, his family says he has a work permit and ID to be here. It is a moral failure that our schools, places of worship and other community spaces are being used to tear families apart and spread fear and chaos across our country."
'Immigrants make America great': Rally in southwest Detroit seeks end to deportations
Jaimes owns Lupes Pro Painting, a business he created after working for years for others. When he told a previous employer he was leaving to start his own business, they doubted he would succeed, but his hard work paid off, Hector said.
Jaimes is a gregarious and talkative man who likes to strike up conversations with people and was supportive of his family's needs.
"He is always smiling," Hector said. "He's a family person. He's always trying to give us everything ... that he never had while he was young."
The family says it's unfortunate immigrants without criminal records like his father are being targeted since they contribute to society with their business and taxes.
"Show some sympathy, because there's too much hate in the world right now," he said.
His arrest was first reported by WXYZ-TV. His daughter, Anna Jaimes, told the TV station: "He's just a hard worker. ... He doesn't deserve none of this. I think he's always just trying to do good stuff and work hard and take care of his family."
The case of Jaimes brings back fears among some immigrants in metro Detroit that arose during Trump's first term. Like Jaimes, Jorge Garcia, of Lincoln Park, was an immigrant father from Mexico who also lived in the U.S. for 30 years before he was deported in January 2018. He was stuck in Mexico for about two years before being allowed to return.
A rally was held earlier this week in southwest Detroit in support of immigrants, asking ICE not to target them. An ICE spokesman said in response: 'While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement respects the rights and civil liberties of all individuals, ICE, through its congressionally assigned criminal and civil immigration enforcement authorities, arrests aliens who commit crimes and have violated our nation's immigration laws. All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States, regardless of nationality."
On Friday, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Michigan said that prosecutors have charged 46 immigrants since January who were accused of being unlawfully present in the U.S. and other alleged crimes.
Contact Niraj Warikoo: [e-mail]
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jose Jaimes of Michigan arrested by ICE outside Trenton middle school