YPSILANTI, MI — After a month-long ICE detainment, Miguel Rosas Ruiz finally reunited with his daughter Morelia Rosas Martinez.She remembers feeling like “one battle was won.”Rosas Martinez was at her Ypsilanti family home on April 16 when her brother picked up Rosas Ruiz, 50, from North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin after he was detained by federal immigration authorities on March 10.“I felt a sense of relief having him back with us,” Rosas Martinez, 22, said, noting their high emotions, hug and first meal together that day.Her father’s return came after weeks of Rosas Martinez’s continuous fight to bring him back and years of her frustration toward federal immigration enforcement actions.“It’s always been in my mind, and it’s always been something I’ve fought against in any little way I could,” she said.Rosas Ruiz was allegedly on his way to his painting business Rosas Painting after stopping at Lowe’s for supplies when he was intercepted off of Carpenter Road in Ypsilanti near Ann Arbor on March 10, according to his daughter.She received the news after a community member texted her a photograph of what seemed like his van.“It just was very, very scary,” Rosas Martinez said, recalling the moment she found out about his detainment. “I think just instant panic, but at the same time, instant action.”Soon after she received the news, she began calling immigrant assistance organizations for help.“We freaked out, called everyone and tried to just understand what are the next steps,” Rosas Martinez said. “As much as someone tries to be prepared for moments like this, I think no one is.”Calling advocacy organizations and reaching out to an immigration attorney are the best first steps and locating and supporting a family member, said William “Bill” Lopez, clinical associate professor at UM and author of the 2025 book “Raiding the Heartland: An American Story of Deportation and Resistance.”U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokespeople confirmed Rosas Ruiz’s detainment in an April 23 email and said he was arrested during a targeted enforcement action.“ICE officers were conducting surveillance of a target residence when they observed Mr. Rosas-Ruiz’s vehicle depart that residence,” the agency wrote, noting that Rosas Ruiz admitted that he entered the country from Mexico over 20 years ago.Rosas Martinez alleges that ICE agents profiled her father due to his Mexican national origin, especially given that he allegedly left a Lowe’s location prior to his detainment.ICE said it does not arrest individuals based on appearance and denies accusations that officers profiled Rosas Ruiz.The agency’s April 23 email states that ICE’s “actions are guided strictly by an individual’s immigration status. ICE relies on intelligence-driven targeting operations to locate and apprehend specific targets at-large.”Despite Rosas Martinez’s worries, she said she feels better knowing she took action than only “sitting back and panicking.”About five hours later, she said her father called her family informing them that he was in Detroit waiting to be sent to the Baldwin facility.Rosas Martinez said the days following her father’s detainment were “very chaotic and crazy.”Baldwin is three hours from Ypsilanti, making it more difficult for loved ones to visit the ICE facility, Lopez said.A community supporting a familyLopez said many important human elements were a part of Rosas Ruiz’s detainment. “When children are in school and when young adults are in school, no one’s going to school and better able to focus on their work because a parent is detained,” Lopez said.“Every student, universally, when a parent is detained, is going to do worse.”He also argues that ICE detentions are always about family separation.After Rosas Ruiz’s detention, Rosas Martinez and her family members advocated head-on for his return. She said her brother took over her father’s business while she handled legal concerns.The family launched a GoFundMe page on March 26 to raise funds toward related legal expenses. The page has brought in over $20,000 from over 260 donations, as of April 23.The family has also received many letters of support from community members for Rosas Ruiz.“Lots of people immediately showed us their support and how devastated they were by this news and how they were willing to do so much for my dad,” Rosas Martinez said.The Scarlett Middle School Parent Teacher Student Organization reposted the family’s GoFundMe page on social media, along with an open statement with over 130 signatures urging elected officials to work toward Rosas Ruiz’s release.“It’s not something you can escape in this country”Rosas Ruiz is a funny and outgoing person, according to his daughter, who noted his extroverted personality, kindness and storytelling skills.“I feel like no one else in the family is like him in that way,” Rosas Martinez said. “He’s always talking to people and wanting to make conversation with people.”Despite his long work hours, Rosas Ruiz still made time for his family, according to Rosas Martinez.“He’s always been the most supportive person of our interests and trying to get us to get our career started and everything,” Rosas Martinez said, noting her father brought the family out to plays, concerts, sports practices and school events.Federal court officials issued Rosas Ruiz a release on bond April 15, his daughter said. She reunited with her father the following day after her brother drove him from Baldwin.Federal immigration actions have always been on Rosas Martinez’s mind since she was little, but her fears intensified during Trump’s first administration.“It’s not something you can escape in this country, being children of immigrants,” Rosas Martinez said.Rosas Martinez first advocated against ICE as a response to constant jokes by middle school classmates during Trump’s first administration. Her father’s detention has motivated her further.“It really opened my eyes to how many people are going through this and what the cruelty behind the system is,” Rosas Martinez said.She argued it is a very scary time for immigrants and people in positions of privilege should speak out, even in small ways. “I don’t think I’ve ever been as passionate to help others and to end this situation as a whole,” Rosas Martinez said.Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page.