The Daily Populous Thursday April 24th, 2025 morning edition
Authored by latintimes.com and submitted by steffxoxoxoo

An American citizen born and raised in California is unsettled after receiving an e-mail from the US Department of Homeland Security ordering him to leave the country "immediately."

Aldo Martinez-Gomez received the DHS notice on April 11, threatening "criminal prosecution" and fines if he does not depart within seven days.

"Do not attempt to remain in the United States - The federal government will find you," the e-mail warned.

"Where do they want me to go?" Martinez-Gomez told KTLA. "I was born in National City. I was raised in San Diego County my whole life."

Martinez-Gomez works full-time assisting immigrants in court for a non-profit and believes his advocacy work may have placed him on the government's radar.

"I believe I received it because I'm an accredited representative, and I represent immigrants, and I advocate for immigrants' rights in the court," he told ABC 10News.

Despite providing his birth certificate to prove his US citizenship, Martinez-Gomez says he has been forced to make contingency plans with family members and now worries about being detained while performing his job.

"I'm not seeking fame or attention, I just want to bring light to this issue because I'm not trying to be one of the government's mistakes," he told KTLA.

A Massachusetts immigration attorney reported receiving a similar e-mail last week.

In a statement, a senior DHS official said notices may have been accidentally sent to US citizens if their contact information was submitted by migrants — calling it a case of "unintended recipients." The agency insisted it would address such issues individually.

The statement provided little comfort to Martinez-Gomez. "I do get nervous," he said. "They have been talking about deporting U.S. citizens, so it is a concern."

Peach__Pixie on April 23rd, 2025 at 16:09 UTC »

> Despite providing his birth certificate to prove his US citizenship, Martinez-Gomez says he has been forced to make contingency plans with family members and now worries about being detained while performing his job.

I'm just waiting for one of these poor people to become the target of "fake birth certificate" conspiracies.

June_2022 on April 23rd, 2025 at 16:02 UTC »

Why are they fucking emailing people? EMAIL? Why not a formal letter sent via certified mail?

Theduckisback on April 23rd, 2025 at 16:00 UTC »

I think he had the right idea of going to the media. At least now, if the government makes good on its threats, there will be someone looking for him.