Editor’s Note: Having lived in Los Angeles for a decade and still with family there, I’m deeply concerned by recent ICE raids. Immigration enforcement must be fair and constitutional—not driven by suspicion based on race or intimidation. Our nation’s commitment to due process is foundational. Without it, enforcement risks becoming a tool of discrimination rather than justice. The following article, is an abridged version of one originally published in the May-June 2025 issue of Grand Rapids Magazine, and explores “Citizen: The Jilmar Ramos-Gomez Story,” a documentary revealing how a U.S. citizen from Grand Rapids ended up in an ICE detention facility.
In 2018, Jilmar Ramos-Gomez, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Grand Rapids native, was arrested after allegedly starting a small fire in a hospital stairwell and accessing the helipad. The fire caused no major damage, and no one was hurt. He was charged with arson and property damage but ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespassing. This incident was tied to a mental health episode linked to his post-traumatic stress disorder, as confirmed by his attorneys and the ACLU of Michigan. Despite having his U.S. passport on his person, and presenting military dog tags, Ramos-Gomez was fast-tracked into immigration custody after an off-duty officer saw a news report about the incident on local television and alerted ICE. Despite clear proof of citizenship, ICE proceeded to treat Ramos-Gomez as undocumented, and held him in an ICE detention facility for three days. Civil rights attorneys argue he was targeted because of his ethnicity.
The arrest itself was legitimate, but the swift move toward deportation was the real shock. Ramos-Gomez’s case exposes the dangers faced by many in the Latino community who can unfairly be fast tracked into immigration enforcement systems, demonstrating the ongoing need for proper due process.
This issue became the focus of Jose Jimenez’s documentary. The film highlights how a person’s identity can be overlooked, with devastating consequences.
Ramos-Gomez’s mother poignantly asks in the film: “Where are they going to deport him to? Grand Rapids?”
Though the film tells a story from several years ago, its message is urgent today. Immigration enforcement remains a contested battleground, where appearance and ethnicity can unfairly influence outcomes. The issue is not only about one man, but about a system struggling to balance security, justice, and humanity.
Ramos-Gomez’s legal fight resulted in reforms—Kent County now requires a judicial warrant before handing someone over to ICE. But the struggle continues.
Filmmaker Jimenez points to troubling trends over multiple administrations, noting that during the past presidential administration members of his community ‘let their guards down’
While the rhetoric surrounding more recent immigration policies rightly rings alarm bells for many in the Latino community, the statistics speak for themselves: Obama oversaw about 5.3 million total repatriations, including 3.2 million deportations. Trump’s first term, about 2.1 million repatriations took place, fewer removals compared to Obama. Biden’s administration saw roughly 4.8 million repatriations through 2024. At the time the magazine went to print on April 8, 2025, an estimated 114,000 to 120,000 deportations had occurred since Jan. 20, 2025, and the number of deportations were not on track to outpace Biden’s or Obama’s annual totals. The critical question remains: how many, like Ramos-Gomez, were U.S. citizens?
“Citizen: The Jilmar Ramos-Gomez Story,” is a call to recognize the human faces behind immigration statistics and to demand justice and due process for all.
For information on upcoming screenings, follow filmmaker Jose Jimenez @josegjimenezjr and ‘Citizen’ @citizenjrg on Instagram.
