At 16, Paulino Martin San Pedro made a difficult decision. He left his home in a small town in Hidalgo, Mexico, the only place he’d ever known, and on his own crossed the border into the United States in search of work so he could send money back to his family. He found not just work in America but a life. He spent more than three decades in the U.S., where he ran a family handyman and contracting business in Beaverton, got married and raised three children. Late last year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Martin San Pedro and quickly sent him back to Mexico. He died in February at age 53 – his health broken, his family says, by the ordeal.Though he was an undocumented immigrant, Martin San Pedro had hoped he’d be able to stay in the U.S. or return, considering the many productive years he’d spent in the country. The last thing he said to his wife, as he was being detained, was to tell her to continue taking care of their customers with the help of family members.“When my dad was deported, he really wanted to come back and help those individuals,” his son, Eric Martin, 31, told The Oregonian/OregonLive, referring to his father’s customers. “That was always my dad’s focal point: helping others and getting the job done.” But Paulino Martin San Pedro never returned to the States. ICE agents took him to a detention center, pressured him to self-deport without a court order and sent him over the border and into Mexico, his son said.Eric Martin grows emotional while speaking during a rally at Beaverton's Southridge High School on Nov. 28, 2025 for the return to the U.S. of his father, Paulino Martin San Pedro, who was detained by immigration agents and deported to Mexico earlier this month.Jonathan Bach I The Oregonian/OregonLiveRoughly three months later, on Feb. 16, he was dead — from a bout of severe pneumonia from a respiratory infection his son believes he contracted while in ICE custody. The infection led doctors in Mexico to put him into an induced coma for more than a month. Surgeries at a hospital there weren’t enough to stop the progression of the illness. “The way he was treated really broke down his immune system, and he was never able to bounce back,” Eric Martin said. “The trauma being thrown at him and essentially just being so broken, I think his immune system just couldn’t take it anymore.” Eric Martin, who’s a recruiter for a property management company, said his father was a caring person who always put his children first — which often meant not touching his food until his kids had finished eating, just to make sure there was enough for them. He also treated customers as family.When Kari Nicolaisen, a Portland resident, found out she had to have open-heart surgery, she hired Martin San Pedro to build a large deck at her home so she could recuperate outside as much as possible. Martin San Pedro “stopped everything,” putting other work aside, to build and stain a deck for her, making sure it was ready by the time she returned home from the hospital. In the days after her surgery, she said, Martin San Pedro made a point of checking in on her and keeping the deck clean. “I’ve never met a finer man, a more honest man,” she said. “Lots of integrity and a hard worker.””Eric Martin added that his father, though undocumented, was licensed and bonded for his business, and paid taxes. He wanted to get a green card and even citizenship, his son said, but the cost of working through the long legal immigration process and his fear of being deported if he revealed his status kept him from seriously trying. “My dad was always caught in a catch 22,” he said. Eric Martin said that since he’s started sharing his father’s story, people have told him there were ways his father could have successfully attained legal status over the years. Eric Martin said he understands where they’re coming from, but that the various options were difficult to grasp at the time. He said he believes the immigration process should be more humane and offer more accessible pathways to citizenship. “I wish there was a way for people who have been here, who have not caused damage, who have given back to the community and benefitted society, to get an opportunity to be here,” he said. MORE BY TATUM TODDDespite the stress of being undocumented, Paulino Martin San Pedro made a mark during his decades of living in the U.S., his son said. He helped a lot of people here – family, friends, customers, Eric Martin said. “My dad was always there for them, which is why we have a big community reaching out and trying to help us – due to all the good things he did in his life.”Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Paulino Martin San Pedro‘s name.