Attorneys and immigrant rights activists are rallying behind the family of a Moreno Valley man who was deported to Tijuana on the same day he interviewed for a green card that would have given him permanent United States residency.

Ramon Ruiz Ortiz, 36, was deported May 11 when his application to register for permanent residency was denied because he had been deported or removed from the U.S. at or near San Ysidro back in 1999, according to a U.S. document. However, the denial document does not mention Ruiz’s recent deportation.

On Wednesday, May 24, representatives with the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, the ACLU, and an aide of Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside, met with Ruiz’s wife and stepson at the Immigration Law Offices of Hadley Bajramovic to talk strategies.

While attorneys work on a case to bring Ruiz back from Mexico, immigrant rights activists are organizing to financially help the family. Ruiz was the main provider for his family.

In tears Wednesday, Ruiz’s wife Norma Perez said she’d never accept handouts, but with rent and other bills due, she would take any help she can get. She said she’s working on finding a more stable job.

The deportation of Ruiz, a father of U.S. citizen children, has left a family distraught and a slew of unanswered questions.

Bajramovic, who represents the Mexican Consulate in San Bernardino, said her office has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get records of Ruiz’s 1999 apprehension from Customs and Border Protection. She expects to get those records in about two weeks.

Meanwhile, ICE has issued a statement painting a different picture. The agency said Ruiz attempted to fraudulently obtain lawful permanent residence under an assumed name.

Immigration officials said he applied using a false name and that he had been removed previously and then had returned here illegally, making him ineligible for a green card, according to ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice.

However, the May 11 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services document detailing why Ruiz’s application to register for permanent residence was denied, refers to him as Ramon Ruiz Ortiz.

Bajramovic then e-mailed a reporter with scanned copies of identification documents, including Ruiz’s Mexican passport and birth certificate along with his U.S. Social Security card and Riverside County wedding certificate.

Bajramovic said her office is investigating whether ICE broke any rules in the way it deported Ruiz.

Particularly, attorneys are looking into a 2014 settlement agreement — between the American Civil Liberties Union and a number of U.S. immigration agencies — that allowed some immigrants to come back to the U.S. if they were coerced by immigration officials to sign their own expulsion orders.

Regarding Ruiz’s May 11 deportation, Bajramovic said there is no official explanation of what happened that day.

“There isn’t anything that shows he was even deported properly,” she said.

Ruiz said he was not allowed to make a phone call May 11 to speak with his wife or attorney. He said an immigration official did not explain documents presented to him, which were in English. He said he doesn’t fully understand how to read or write in English.

Ruiz said the official told him, “Even if you don’t sign we are deporting you.” Ruiz did not sign.

On top of that, Ruiz said his Mexican passport and his matricula consular card were taken from him. He was in Mexico without any identification.

Ruiz was seeking to become a legal U.S. resident because he wanted “to be free in this country. To come out of the shadows.”