Carlos Godinez hugs younger sister Rose Godinez when she graduated from law school. Despite training as an expert in immigration, civil rights and nonprofit law, Rose said she feels somewhat powerless in a current predicament that has her older brother facing deportation proceedings. He's been in the U.S. since age 10 and owns a longtime Kearney business. (Courtesy of Godinez family)
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OMAHA — When Nebraskan Rose Godinez chose a legal career, she was motivated by the opportunity to help immigrants, including some of her own family, knock down barriers to realizing their American dream.
Today the Lexington-raised attorney — who recently directed the legal team for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska — is confronted with perhaps her most trying predicament yet.
Older brother Carlos Godinez, who has lived in Nebraska all but the first decade of his 47 years, has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and faces deportation to Guatemala. The oldest of five siblings who all graduated from Lexington High School, Carlos attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney and is a long-time restaurant owner and community figure.
“It’s probably one of the most difficult times of my life, both professionally and personally, in that my family is the reason I became a lawyer in the first place, to understand the law and know how to maneuver,” Rose Godinez said. “Despite all the skills and abilities I’ve gained in the immigration court system … I feel powerless in a sense right now.”
She is doing whatever is possible to help family and friends raise awareness and support demonstrating her brother’s community standing that she said might assist in anti-deportation efforts led by Omaha immigration attorney Rachel Yamamoto.
Mixed-status predicament
The case highlights a predicament facing many families of mixed immigration status as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to push its “largest domestic deportation operation in history.” The White House says it is “liberating Americans from the crushing burden of unchecked illegal immigration.”
By a twist of fate and birth order, some members of migrant families are born U.S. citizens, while others rely on often complex and time-consuming legal steps to gain permanent residency and citizenship rights that protect against removal from the country.
In the Godinez case, Carlos came to the U.S. at age 10 with his mom to join his dad who at the time was working on the West Coast. The family a couple of years later moved to Nebraska for meatpacking jobs. Rose, born in Los Angeles, was two when the family arrived in Lexington.
Carlos eventually married in Nebraska, divorced and is raising two sons, ages 11 and 13. For more than 15 years he has operated and owned Nick’s Gyros in Kearney but lacks his own lawful residency status.
On March 11, federal agents took him into custody, and he is on an ICE hold in Hall County Jail in Grand Island. Court records show he had been on probation in Buffalo County after violating terms last summer of a driver’s license revocation. His sister believes the legal interaction triggered an ICE notification.
She referred more specific legal questions to his immigration attorney, Yamamoto, who could not immediately be reached for comment.
Childhood plane ride
As Godinez faces a March 31 appearance before an Omaha-based immigration judge, his restaurant’s social media account has been filling up with well wishes and words about his community contributions. One critic quipped that federal law doesn’t include a “good guy clause,” while others questioned why he didn’t seek a legal remedy sooner.
Rose Godinez, who now leads a private practice specializing in nonprofits and small businesses, said her brother had options including a citizen family member petitioning on his behalf. That route often takes many years. She said her brother, whom she described as a “pull yourself up from the bootstraps kind of guy,” balked at depending on another’s status to gain his own.
In a media statement, Carlos Godinez said he was “raised with the American belief that if you work hard, you earn your keep.”
He recalled flying on a plane as a boy to the U.S., “not knowing where we were going, only that I would see my father again.”
“I built a business, gave back to my community and lived what I believe is the American Dream which is now at risk of being taken away,” Godinez wrote.
His parents and all but one sibling live in Nebraska. The youngest brother, Jonathan, is working on his doctorate degree at Columbia University in New York.
Maria Godinez, their mother, said she is “devastated” for her grandchildren and family. She said she was recently hospitalized, and son Carlos offered support via a call from the jail.
“We are not a family that asks for help, but today I am asking,” she said in a statement. “As a mother, I’ve watched my son grow into someone who works tirelessly, not just for our family but for our entire community. Carlos has built a business, helped so many people and shown leadership.”
Yolanda Nuncio of Grand Island, said she met the Godinezes decades ago when she was a principal in the Lexington public school system. She said the whole family, including the grandma, attended school and community events together. She said she watched Carlos ascend as an entrepreneur and his siblings grow into professional careers.
“It’s a strong family that’s been here for many years and has contributed so much to the community in all areas,” Nuncio said. “For this to be happening to Carlos and the family — because it does affect the entire family — is unthinkable and hard to understand.”
Nuncio views the situation as a sign of an “inadequate” immigration system. “We need to get this corrected, because it is destroying families and communities,” she said.
Trump’s ‘ironclad commitment’
The Trump administration has doubled-down on the president’s “ironclad commitment” to enforcing the nation’s laws, contending in January that the efforts have resulted in less crime, lower housing costs, higher wages and more jobs.
“Through mass deportations, the Trump administration is freeing up resources, revitalizing opportunity and restoring safety — delivering tangible results that put Americans first,” the statement reads. ICE officials did not respond to a request for comment on the Godinez case.
Supporters of Carlos Godinez say that through his business, he has hosted and sponsored community events and created opportunities for students. Juan Guzman, a friend and longtime UNK staff member, said in a statement that he has been active in his fraternity and in backing service initiatives.
“He has helped organize and financially support impactful educational events such as the Beta Men Conference for middle school boys and the NCUC programs, which aims to inspire and guide high school students to pursue higher education,” said Guzman.
Rose Godinez said her brother financed his own business that has employed many students. She said that as a first-born, he is a focused self-starter and leader. She said he is preparing for his day in immigration court.
Via social media, Carlos Godinez asked community members to pass on a message to the immigration judge Abby Meyer: “Let her know that I’m an asset and not a liability to this country I call home.”
This story is provided by States Newsroom, a nonprofit state news network and Blox Digital content partner.
