A California man born in the United States was shocked to receive a deportation notice from the Department of Homeland Security, demanding he leave the country within a week. The email, which came from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), claimed his parole was ending and implied he had no legal status to stay in the country.
According to ABC 10 News San Diego, the man, Aldo Martinez Gomez, is an accredited immigration representative and advocate who helps others navigate the court system. He believes the message was mistakenly sent to him due to his involvement in immigration work and possibly because a migrant used his email address during a case.
Martinez Gomez, who was born in National City and is a U.S. citizen, says this feels more like intimidation than a clerical error. He’s worried the incident reflects broader concerns about the current administration’s approach to immigration enforcement, even targeting citizens by mistake.
The Department of Homeland Security later acknowledged that notices may have been sent to the wrong people if migrants listed email addresses belonging to others. They promised to handle such cases individually, but that hasn’t eased concerns for Martinez Gomez, whose seven-day deadline has already expired.
Despite the mix-up, he says he’s not backing down from his work helping immigrants, even if it means walking into ICE offices or detention centers under heightened scrutiny.
