A Florida pastor who has lived in the United States for more than two decades was detained by federal agents during his annual immigration check-in.
Maurilio Amizael Ambrocio Mendez, 42, from Guatemala, was detained at the ICE field office in Tampa on April 17 at around 9 a.m., according to his family. He is currently being held at the Glades County Detention Center.
Ambrocio Mendez had been attending annual ICE appointments for the past 12 years under a court-issued “stay of removal,” a form of supervision allowing him to remain in the country despite a deportation order.
According to his daughter, 19-year-old Ashley Ambrocio, Ambrocio Mendez had always complied with the conditions of his supervision.
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“It’s truly horrible. These people are going to their appointments to make it right. If they were the ‘real criminals’ Trump is supposedly deporting, they wouldn’t be representing themselves to a judge,” Ashley told Newsweek.
“My father’s lawyer told my dad the chance was high he could be detained, but my father decided to go because he knew he was doing the right thing and obeying,” she said.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek that Ambrocio Mendez was previously deported and convicted for driving without a license after he had re-entered the country illegally.
According to a statement from DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, “Maurilio Amizael Ambrocio Mendez is an illegal alien from Guatemala who illegally re-entered the U.S. after being deported in 2006. While illegally in the U.S., Mendez was convicted for driving without a license in 2012. He received final removal orders from a judge on January 13, 2013. He was arrested by ICE on April 17, 2025, in Tampa.”
Ashley, who accompanied her father to the appointment with one of her brothers and another pastor, described the agents’ treatment as cold and indifferent.
“The ICE agents came out without sympathy. “You will hear from your dad in 48 hours’,” she recalled.
She added: “Only one person was kind enough, but he was Hispanic; he said, ‘Don’t worry, you will hear from him soon.'”
The arrest comes amid a crackdown on immigration by President Donald Trump‘s administration. Trump has vowed to remove millions of immigrants without legal status as part of a hard-line mass deportation policy. The White House has said that anyone living in the country illegally is a “criminal.”
Maurilio entered the U.S. in May 1999 and is the father of five U.S. citizen children. Ashley, the eldest, said their family has been left shattered by his detention.
“I feel really sad and lonely. I know I have my family with him, but my family also includes my father.
Ashley said that during the first few days following her father’s arrest, she became ill from the stress of what happened; she couldn’t eat for three days and struggled to sleep. She’s concerned over her father’s treatment while in ICE detention and said she is feeling anxious about their future together, especially if he ends up being deported.
“My family is devastated. It isn’t the same without him; they miss him and wish he would come back,” she said. “My mom didn’t just lose the father of her children but also her partner. She gets lonely.
“Despite all this, I have faith, and that’s what keeps me going.”
Ashley said her father’s immigration status is undocumented, but the family has been planning to adjust it.
Her father runs a small handyman and remodeling business and is deeply involved in his church and community. His family says he is known for preaching to others, even while in detention.
“He tells us countless people who have changed their way of living because of the messages my father has preached there,” Ashley said.
Amid the uncertainty, the family remains grounded in their faith.
“Faith is everything for us. It’s a pillar of strength,” she said. “We have faith that the Lord will use him in there and that soon he will be able to come out.”