Story highlights Romulo Avelica Gonzalez: I was taking my daughter to school when ICE arrested me in February, and I spent 6 months in detention

He says: I've lived half my life in US. Gov. Jerry Brown should sign SB 54 to keep local police from deporting immigrants

Romulo Avelica Gonzalez, a 48-year-old father of four US-citizen daughters, has lived in Los Angeles for more than 30 years. In February 2017, he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers while dropping his daughters off at school. He spent the next six months in immigration detention. On Wednesday, August 30, he was released on bond. He continues to fight his deportation case. The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.





(CNN) Trapped inside an immigration detention center in Adelanto, California over the past six months, I often felt powerless. I did not give up, but only because of my family's strength, my faith, and the support of my growing community of supporters.

The sense of powerlessness when inside prison walls is overwhelming. But now that I am on the outside, my experience gives me strength. That's why, as I thank all of those who stood up to help me, I am also asking them to help others who are still ensnared in this cruel system.

I was arrested by immigration officers in late February while dropping my daughters off at school -- and that set off events I could never have imagined. My 14-year-old, Fatima, recorded the officers taking me -- through her tears from the backseat of the car. Despite her devastation, Fatima went to school that day. She told her teachers and cousins what had happened. Everyone started making calls to help: to civil rights organizations, city and county officials, religious leaders -- anyone, and everyone.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement tried to deport me that same night, but the community outcry prevented that.

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As the weeks passed, I had to learn how to kill the time so that the time would not kill me. I savored minutes in the recreation yard, as well as the few possessions that reminded me of home -- a photo of my children, a handmade rosary, a necklace of Saint Jude.

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