Ramon Ruiz Ortiz of Moreno Valley went to San Bernardino’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office at 10 a.m. May 11 to interview for a green card giving him permanent residency. By 7 p.m., he’d been deported to Tijuana.

Now, his family and an attorney representing the Mexican Consulate in San Bernardino are trying to figure out what happened to the man they describe as a hard-working husband and father with no criminal record. They contend he should not have been deported.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, 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.

Ruiz, 36, who was born in the Mexican state of Jalisco, had been living in the United States for 17 years. He held the same job at Greatwide Distribution Logistics in Ontario for 14 years, and had put down roots in Moreno Valley with his wife and three U.S. citizen children, including one stepson.

He and his family insist he is who he says he is.

Right after he was deported, Ruiz and his family believed that previous contact with Customs and Border Protection in 1999 is what led to his deportation, said attorney Hadley Bajramovic, who represents the Mexican Consulate in San Bernardino. Ruiz was aware of this, but a different attorney told him it wouldn’t pose problems.

But on Thursday, May 18, ICE issued a statement painting a different picture. The agency said Ruiz attempted to fraudulently obtain lawful permanent residence under an assumed name. An ICE official declined to say what they think his real name is, citing privacy concerns.

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

“Wow,” is all Bajramovic could say in an e-mail after being asked about the false-identity claim. She later 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.

“I’m in shock. This feels like a nightmare. I can’t sleep … I can’t believe it,” Ruiz said in Spanish during a telephone interview from Ensenada on Wednesday, May 17. “I feel alone. I need my kids, my wife. We went in there happy and look what happened.”

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

IMMIGRATION ARRESTS GO UP

To Bajramovic, Ruiz’s arrest and deportation shows that “ICE is sending a message.”

Immigration arrests have increased by nearly 40 percent in early 2017 as agents — emboldened by President Donald Trump’s pledge to build a border wall and deport criminals — detained more than 40,000 people suspected of being in the country illegally.

These numbers released by Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas Homan on Wednesday, May, 17 offer a glimpse of how Trump is carrying through on his campaign promises to make immigration enforcement a top priority.

Overall, 41,300 people were arrested for deportation. Nearly 11,000 had no criminal conviction, more than double the number of immigrants without criminal convictions arrested during a comparable period last year.

“What’s really troubling is that enforcement priorities have changed drastically,” Bajramovic said.

People who have possible removal orders at the border are now subject to deportation even though they have long ties to the community, Bajramovic said.

‘I FELT LIKE A CRIMINAL’

Ruiz’s application to register for permanent residence was denied because he was deported or removed from the U.S. at or near San Ysidro back in 1999, according to a U.S. document.

Bajramovic said Ruiz told her he never made it to the U.S. when Customs and Border Protection removed him from the trunk of a car in the San Ysidro inspection line more than 17 years ago. He was taken into the Border Protection processing area and was removed.

To Bajramovic, it’s troubling that the May 11 denial document does not mention Ruiz’s recent deportation.

“There’s no explanation of what happened,” she said. “There isn’t anything that shows he was even deported properly.”

Ruiz’s recent application interview took place at an Immigration Services field office in San Bernardino, but he was then taken to the nearby Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. His stepson, Erik Silva, was with him. Silva said immigration officials did not tell him his father was being deported until he went to the other facility.

Ruiz said he felt like a criminal.

He said he was not allowed to make a phone call to speak with his wife or attorney. Ruiz 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.

“I don’t feel they did things in a just way,” Ruiz said. “They didn’t let me do anything.”

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

“Ramon was not informed properly of anything that was happening to him,” Bajramovic said.

WEIGHING OPTIONS

Bajramovic is seeking details of his arrest to determine whether ICE broke any rules in the way it deported Ruiz. She said she will try to bring him back to the U.S. through a parole process.

To Bajramovic, it’s clear Ruiz is eligible for relief in immigration court.

He’s been in the U.S. for more than 10 years and can prove he’s paid taxes. He has children who are U.S. citizens. His good character may qualify for defense against deportation.

“He should be allowed to present those applications before an immigration judge,” she said.

“To me it’s unbelievable,” Bajramovic said. “We have a man who is trying to do the right thing. The family is now torn apart.”

FAMILY DISTRAUGHT

For now, Ruiz’s family is left reeling from the aftermath of his deportation.

His wife Norma Perez said her family is honest and hardworking. She did not expect something like this to happen to them despite the current immigration climate in the U.S.

Ruiz’s teenage daughter is taking it particularly hard. She said her father is the reason she does well in school.

“Honestly, I can’t even sleep. I can’t even eat. I really want my dad back,” said Luisa Ruiz, 16, in tears. “Because of him, I’m the person I am today.”

Perez is baffled at the situation.

“That day was supposed to be something good for us,” Perez said. Instead, “It was totally traumatic.”

“We really need him. He was everything to us.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.