This story is part of an ongoing collaboration with the Institute for Public Service Reporting.
Editors Note on audio version: The number of days Gomez has been in federal detention has risen in the time between this story was recorded and when it aired. He has been in custody since Oct. 8.
Delmar Gomez is among hundreds of immigrants arrested by the Memphis Safe Task Force. As of this story's publication, he has been in Jena, Louisiana awaiting a deportation hearing. But his case reveals a larger pattern by the Trump Administration of portraying undocumented immigrants as dangerous criminals.
The 38-year-old Gomez was born in Guatemala. He’s been in Memphis for 20 years-- cutting grass to make a living, and singing as part of his faith.
In a high-quality music video in front of Memphis landmarks, Gomez and his bandmates wear suits and ties as they sing a song of welcome to the Holy Spirit. The band’s Spanish-language name translates to “Vision of Emanuel Group.”
They travel across the country playing in Pentecostal Christian churches.
In October, Gomez and his younger brother were pulled over in a traffic stop in East Memphis. They were sent to a Louisiana detention center and held without bond.
Then the federal Department of Homeland Security issued a news release highlighting 11 people that it called “the worst of the worst” immigrants arrested in Memphis.
Gomez, it said, was arrested for aggravated assault. In another version of the release, the department published his mug shot, but listed the wrong name and called him a drug dealer and car thief from Mexico.
None of this is true.
“When I was first made aware of it, my immediate thought was do people think that all Hispanics look alike?" said immigration attorney Skye Austin with Latino Memphis, who represents Gomez.
She acknowledges that her client entered the U.S. illegally. But she says that besides driving offenses, Gomez has no criminal history.
“Seven local ministers have written me letters, and that's on top of neighbors, friends, clients of Señor Delmar just wanting to let people know, ‘Hey, this is a good man. I know him personally," Austin said.
The press release about Gomez also included unverifiable claims against several other men.
The federal Department of Homeland Security did not respond to our emails.
The news organization ProPublica and its partners have reported that the Trump Administration has repeatedly published false information about groups of immigrants. In one instance, the government deported Venezuelans that it called “terrorists,” when in fact most were ordinary immigrants with no criminal records.
And across the country, statistics show that most of the immigrants that the Trump administration is locking up have minor criminal records or no records at all.
This appears to be the case with Gomez, a father of four children, all U.S. citizens. His oldest, Nancy, is a high school senior.
"I just want to see him again," she said. "I feel really something that has been taken away from me that I want back."
She says the musician has always been an inspiration to others.
"Some of them don't even know him," she said. "But just by listening to his music makes him feel loved through his music."
Gomez younger brother, arrested with him in the vehicle, has already been deported to their native Guatemala.
Delmar Gomez has been locked up for more than a month and a half. With the arrival of his hearing in Louisiana, scheduled for Nov. 25, an immigration judge will finally decide if he’ll be deported - or if he can return to his wife, his children and his ministry of music.