A Texas man with two US-citizen children was apprehended by federal immigration agents following a traffic stop that turned into a life-changing experience for his family.
Pablo Jose Morales Petzey, 32, of Guatemala, was detained on June 6 after local police stopped him and his wife on Highway 6 while they were on their way to a landscaping job. The officer cited the missing license plate, which the family claimed had fallen off the vehicle unknowingly. Following the discovery of Morales’ immigrant status, the officer contacted federal officials.
“The plate had fallen off without us knowing. They told him to get out, and then the police called ICE, and then they took him,” his wife, Laura Rodriguez, told Newsweek.
“They took him with handcuffs and a chain [around] the stomach,” Rodriguez said. ICE agents allowed him a brief moment to say goodbye to his children, during which he kissed them, she added.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to Newsweek that Petzey was “an illegal alien from Guatemala” who was detained by local police for driving without a license plate. “He remains in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are once again a nation of laws,” the spokesperson said.
Petzey is currently being imprisoned at the Montgomery Processing Center in Texas.
Rodriguez, a US citizen, told Newsweek that the arrest has left their family fractured, and their two daughters, 4-year-old Victoria and 3-year-old Angel, are struggling to cope with their father’s abrupt absence.
“My son Angel has autism and struggles to talk. The only words he says are ‘papa’ and ‘mama,’ and now he just looks out the window to see when his dad will return,” Rodriguez said.
“My daughter cries when she thinks of him in the truck when the police told him to get off, and she started to scream, ‘Why are they taking my dad? Why is he all chained up?’ I just told her everything will be OK with a knot in my throat with nothing else to say.”
Petzey’s immigration case is currently pending, according to his wife. She stated that he has no criminal background.
Immigration courts are overburdened, with a backlog of over 3.7 million cases, according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Asylum seekers may wait years for a verdict on their case.
The arrest comes amid President Donald Trump’s harsh immigration crackdown.
Under the Trump administration, ICE has increased arrests around the country. The White House has stated that anyone staying in the country illegally is deemed a “criminal.” The administration has detained immigrants with legal documents, including green cards and student visas, putting them at risk of deportation.
According to reports, the government has asked ICE to halt targeting farms, restaurants, and hotels due to worries about the economic impact.
“Illegal aliens can take control of their departure with the CBP Home App,” the DHS spokesperson said. “The United States is offering illegal aliens $1,000 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”