Longtime Business Owner Faces Deportation Amid Legal Challenges
In an unexpected turn of events, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained Carlos Godinez, a longstanding business figure in Kearney, Nebraska. Godinez, who has operated Nick’s Gyros for the past 15 years, is currently held at the Hall County Department of Corrections under an ICE hold.
“I came to this country on a plane at 10 years old, not knowing where we were going — only that I would see my father again,” Carlos Godinez expressed in a news release. “I was raised with the American belief that if you work hard, you earn your keep.”
Having lived in the United States for 37 years, Godinez now encounters the threat of deportation back to Guatemala. Although he has been a prominent community member, Godinez lacks legal resident status. Court documents reveal a previous probation due to violating a driver’s license revocation in Buffalo County last summer.
Carlos Godinez’s contributions extend beyond his restaurant ownership. He has been involved in initiatives like the Beta Men Conference for middle school boys and helped establish the Nebraska Cultural Unity Conference (NCUC) during his university years at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Advocating for her brother, Rose Godinez, a former immigration and civil rights attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, is leveraging her legal expertise ahead of his upcoming court hearing on March 31. “My legal degree and my experience has shown me all of the levers that I can pull, and one of those is being an advocate,” said Rose Godinez, who is a U.S. citizen by birth.
The Godinez family, predominantly residing in Nebraska, faces a tense period as they rally around Carlos. He is the eldest of five siblings, with two young sons aged 11 and 13. Notably, his youngest brother is currently pursuing a doctorate at Columbia University.
“I came to this country believing in hard work, responsibility, and giving back,” stated Maria Godinez, Carlos’s mother, in a news release. “That’s the example I hoped to teach my children — and Carlos has lived it every day.”
Carlos Godinez’s legal proceedings will take place before Omaha immigration judge Abby Meyer at the end of the month, with representation by immigration attorney Rachel Yamamoto.
