A 43-year-old man who was caring for his special needs son was detained by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last month, according to his family.Heury Gomez, who immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic, was detained on August 5, 2025, and his family is now taking his story to the public. ICE has pointed to a 2017 conviction on charges including attempted assault in the third degree and attempted petit larceny as to why he was detained, but his family says he has maintained his innocence and that matter "has never defined who he is.".Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security via email and his family via their GoFundMe for comment.Why It MattersMass deportation of undocumented immigrants was a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, and he has quickly moved to carry out those deportations during his second term in office, specifically targeting those who have criminal records.However, many Americans have been critical of his immigration policy as individuals with misdemeanors, decades-old infractions or in some cases no criminal records at all have been swept up in the heightened enforcement.What to KnowGomez was detained at the airport in Newark, New Jersey last month, according to the GoFundMe, which was created to pay for legal representation for him. Several days later, agents transferred him to a detention center in Michigan.He has lived and worked in the U.S. for 20 years and was granted full custody of his 18-year-old son Noah, who is a U.S. citizen with “profound medical needs requiring daily specialized care.”“After a long and exhausting custody battle, Heury decided to take a short birthday trip to Mexico as a rare moment of respite. He was looking forward to returning to begin the medical home care training necessary to take on the responsibility of caring for his son. Instead, this long-awaited reunion has been cruelly derailed,” the GoFundMe reads....While ICE has pointed to the 2015 misdemeanors charges as justification, his family wrote in the GoFundMe that he has “always maintained his innocence” and that the matter “has never defined who he is, nor should it be used now to tear him away from his son.”ICE records reviewed by Newsweek show that Gomez is being held in the North Lake Correctional Facility in Michigan.His cousin, Carolina Zapata, told local news outlet AMNY that ICE “pulled him off to a room to question him, and then they said that he would need to be detained until he sees a judge, and they really didn’t give him any more details outside of that.”“My heart dropped, because I already knew what that probably meant. He was held at the airport for, I would say, over 30 hours. He was just held at the airport, just sitting in a chair,” she told the news outlet.She said that when she spoke to him on the phone, she felt his morale was low.He currently works as a night porter at The New School University. He has lawful permanent residence status, according to his family.What People Are SayingZapata told AMNY: “He really proved to the courts that he’s mentally stable, that he’s professionally stable, that he’s able to provide Noah with a safe home environment, as well as the emotional support and the love, the love that Noah deserves. Because one thing that I’ve observed personally from Heury is how much he loves his son.”A Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson previously told Newsweek: "A green card is a privilege, not a right, and under our nation's laws, our government has the authority to revoke a green card if our laws are broken and abused. Lawful Permanent Residents presenting at a U.S. port of entry with previous criminal convictions may be subject to mandatory detention and/or may be asked to provide additional documentation to be set up for an immigration hearing."What Happens NextGomez remains in Michigan as his family continues to fight for his release. The GoFundMe has raised more than $8,000 as of Tuesday morning.