Parents of Detained Green Card Holder Regret Support for Trump

LUMPKIN, Georgia — Two parents, who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, now express regret as their son, Agustin Gentile, is detained at the second-largest immigrant jail in the U.S. Located just 2 miles from the Stewart Detention Center, El Refugio serves as a hospitality house for families with loved ones in detention.

Martin Verdi and Debora Rey, Argentine Americans, traveled nine hours from North Carolina to visit Gentile, a green card holder and father of two U.S. citizen children, aged 6 and 8. They were stunned to find their son in such a precarious situation after having voted for Trump’s promises to secure the southern border.

“This is craziness,” Rey said regarding their son’s detention, which stemmed from a 2020 misdemeanor conviction in California. The couple feels betrayed by an administration whose rhetoric targeted only illegal immigrants and violent offenders, not individuals like their son, who has lived in the U.S. since childhood.

After returning to the U.S. from a trip abroad in February, Homeland Security officials confiscated Gentile’s green card at Los Angeles International Airport, directing him to report to a Customs and Border Protection office, where he was detained.

Rey highlighted the emotional toll this has taken on their grandchildren, who are unaware of their father’s predicament. “We had to lie to them because we don’t want to hurt them,” she shared. Verdi added, “They ask, ‘Where is my daddy?’”

Gentile’s legal troubles stem from a misdemeanor conviction for inflicting injury, which he was sentenced to probation for, according to court records. His case was closed in 2023, yet under Trump’s stricter immigration policies, this past offense has led to his detention.

“My son tells me that where he is right now, he is the only person who has papers. Everyone else is undocumented,” Rey noted, expressing the fear and confusion permeating the immigrant community under the current administration.

A local immigration attorney, Charles Kuck, stated that green card holders like Gentile are increasingly subjected to scrutiny, falling victim to a tougher stance on immigration enforcement that disregarded past minor offenses.

“Under previous administrations, people may have traveled without a problem. Now there are no minor things,” Kuck said, echoing the couple’s feelings of shock at the drastic policy shifts.

As the couple grapples with their son’s detention, they navigate a complex legal landscape, understanding they have advantages others lack, such as English fluency and the means to hire attorneys. They remain concerned about the growing number of immigrant families facing similar fates as the Trump administration’s policies unfold.

In remarks about which immigrants are being targeted for detention, a Customs and Border Protection representative emphasized, “Those who violate these laws will be processed, detained, and removed as required.” Rey and Verdi now question their choice to support Trump, realizing the scale of the administration’s crackdown far exceeded anything they had anticipated.