HUMSI — Human Security Initiative

Human Impact Project

A living database documenting reported immigration enforcement incidents and their human impact.

Widowed father detained by ICE, daughter postpones college to raise three younger siblings

Apr 16, 2026·Location: Michigan

Widowed father detained by ICE, daughter postpones college to raise three younger siblings
Photo via CNN

Miguel Rosas Ruiz, a 50-year-old widowed father of four U.S. citizen children in Michigan who has run Rosas Painting in Ypsilanti since 2003, was detained by ICE on March 10, 2026, after being intercepted near Carpenter Road while on his way to work. He was held at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan, while his oldest daughter, Morelia Rosas Martinez, 22, postponed her college plans to care for her three younger siblings and raised over $20,000 through a GoFundMe campaign. Rosas Ruiz challenged his detention in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, which conditionally ruled on April 9 that his detention violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights; he was granted bond at an April 15 hearing and reunited with his family the next day. His case is one of more than 100 identified by CNN involving U.S. citizen children separated from parents through ICE enforcement actions in 2025.

Timeline

Apr 16, 2026—Family reunites with father
Apr 15, 2026—Miguel Rosas Ruiz released on bond
Mar 10, 2026—Miguel Rosas Ruiz detained by ICE near Carpenter Road in Ypsilanti while allegedly on his way to his painting business
Mar 10, 2026—Daughter Morelia Rosas Martinez, 22, postpones college plans to care for three younger U.S. citizen siblings
Mar 10, 2026—Morelia advocates for father's release through community support and legal assistance; GoFundMe campaign raises over $20,000
Suggest a correction, comment, or update

Sources

More incidents in Michigan