After years of constantly being vigilant and preparing for the worst-case scenario, it happened.

A Colorado father whose immigration case has garnered national attention was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents when he showed up for his regular check-in Nov. 13 at the detention facility in Aurora.

Jorge Zaldivar Mendieta has been in the country for more than 22 years and is married to a U.S. citizen. He has been trying to obtain legal status for at least 14 years while living in Denver, according to his family. But because of what they say is a government error, he was repeatedly turned away.

If federal government attorneys convince a judge in a filing due Monday that he should be deported, Zaldivar Mendieta will be forced to leave his wife and kids.

A spokesperson for ICE’s Denver field office, Alethea Smock, would not comment on his case nor provide a reason for not commenting.

Zaldivar Mendieta’s situation exemplifies the complexities of an immigration system that many call broken. The 44-year-old’s case is plagued with obstacles that his family and advocates say stem from errors and inefficiencies, and yet, he has something many in the system don’t: an advocate. That’s why he and his wife, Christina Zaldivar, have been working with immigration advocacy groups, attorneys and politicians to help others caught up in the complicated system.

Zaldivar, an American of indigenous descent, recognizes that not everyone in her husband’s situation has people looking out for them that know their rights and are connected to organizations with resources. It’s not easy or cheap to navigate — she estimates they’ve spent about $200,000 on his case.

“A battle for my rights”

And she doesn’t plan to go down without a fight. Her five children — the youngest is 9 and the oldest is 24 — were all born in the country. She and Zaldivar Mendieta have been trying to obtain legal status through the right channels, even declining an offer of sanctuary at Montview Presbyterian Church and being detained by ICE agents, because “he wanted to do the right thing.” He told The Denver Post that he didn’t want to hide away like he was doing something wrong.

“In the beginning, it was because of love,” Zaldivar said of helping her husband with his immigration status. “And now, it’s because of love, but it’s also a battle of integrity, a battle for my rights, a battle to prove I’m worth everything this country stands for.”

Zaldivar carries six folders with her everywhere she goes. They contain letters from authorities clearing her husband of any criminal charges or convictions.

It’s those papers, signed and notarized, that Zaldivar said the government incorrectly believed were fraudulent, leading to a visa denial.

Zaldivar Mendieta crossed the U.S. border illegally from Mexico in 1997. He has lived in Colorado for most of the time since, except for a stint in Tennessee. He initially planned to stay only temporarily to make some money to help his family in Mexico.

In 2000, Zaldivar Mendieta met his wife. They got married in 2005 and had two kids. He took on Zaldivar’s other three kids as his own, she said.

He worked as a carpenter, roofer and a landscaper, depending on obtaining legal work permits, which were sometimes approved.

Attempting the legal route

Zaldivar Mendieta wanted to “do everything the right way,” his wife said. They tried three times in 2007 to get approval for a visa at the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. Zaldivar Mendieta was married to a citizen and had no criminal charges or convictions, so they thought it would be easy.

A Denver Post review of Colorado criminal records confirmed that Zaldivar Mendieta has no criminal convictions in the state.

But each time Zaldivar provided the records to the consulate, they were accused of lying, she said. After the third time, she said, they told her not to come back. A letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, provided by Zaldivar, lists fraudulent documentation as well as the length of time Zaldivar Mendieta was in the U.S. illegally as the reasons for the denial.

The records problem likely had to do with a 2001 arrest in Arapahoe County where Zaldivar was arrested on suspicion of stealing a car. But the charge was a result of a mistake and was dropped even before it was formally filed.

After trying unsuccessfully to sort out the paperwork, Zaldivar headed back to the United States. She was pregnant and couldn’t leave her other kids. She told her husband that she couldn’t do a long-distance relationship as a single mother — he would have to live at least 10 years in Mexico before applying again — and she couldn’t risk taking her kids to live in Mexico, where she feared their lives would be in danger.

She thought the couple were headed toward divorce. Zaldivar Mendieta tried to stay in Mexico for a little while, but he couldn’t bear living apart from his family. He was depressed. He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t sleep.

So, in December 2007, he again crossed the border illegally into the United States.

“I had my wife and kids, and my wife was pregnant,” he said of the decision, speaking on the phone while in detention in Aurora. “I couldn’t leave her.”

A family man

Zaldivar Mendieta was reunited with his family, but the fact remained that he was in the country illegally.

He came to the attention of authorities in 2008, when he crashed his car into a guardrail in Jefferson County. He was detained and transferred to ICE custody before he bonded out.

In the decade-plus since, Zaldivar Mendieta’s attorney continued to apply for stays so he wouldn’t be deported, and he continued to report to his ICE check-ins until he was detained last week.

The Zaldivars have been working with the American Friends Service Committee to bring awareness to Zaldivar Mendieta’s case. On Saturday, a vigil is planned for him outside the ICE facility.

“I have come to love Jorge and Christina and their family,” Gabriela Flora of AFSC’s Denver Program said. “They represent just one of the thousands and thousands of families that are going through this.”

While in detention Wednesday, Zaldivar Mendieta told The Denver Post by phone that he’s overwhelmed by the support and he’s remaining hopeful.

“I want to be with my family,” he said. “I’m a family man.”

When Zaldivar talks about Zaldivar Mendieta, she struggles to contain her emotions. She met him after she’d gotten out of an abusive marriage and he promised to take care of her and her kids — and he has, Zaldivar said.

“My husband is such a noble man,” she said. “He doesn’t deserve this.”

But when she talks to him on the phone, she’s the one who tries to remain strong. “OK, don’t cry, husband,” Zaldivar said Wednesday night, as she ended a call. “OK, love you.”