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NEW BEDFORD — Two Guatemalan men — one of whom is waiting for a kidney transplant — never made it to work at a seafood processing plant on Monday.
Marvin Yobani Chitic Us, 30, and Justo Rufino Chitic Us, 33, both undocumented immigrants without any criminal history in Massachusetts, were allegedly taken into custody by federal agents before their early-morning shift at Oceans Fleet, where they have worked for years processing scallops. Though they share a surname, they are not related, their families say.
The first sign something was wrong came shortly after 5 a.m., when Marvin’s sister — who also works at Oceans Fleet — noticed that both men were missing. She called her other brother, Gerardo, to tell him that Marvin did not show up for work.
Alarmed, Gerardo contacted Isaias, Justo’s brother. The two began searching the neighborhood and soon found the car the men used to drive to work. It was parked one block from Marvin’s usual spot on Purchase Street, near his apartment. Inside were two cups of coffee, two pastries, and the car keys in the glove compartment.
The breakfast had not been touched.
“We had no idea where they were,” said Gerardo. “They disappeared.”
It wasn’t until noon that Marvin’s cousin, Rolando, received a brief call from him. “It was a very quick call,” Rolando said. “He just said that he was in Burlington and detained by immigration agents who presented him with papers that had his name on them. He said he asked the agents to get his medication before being arrested, but the agents didn’t let him.”
Marvin, who has lived in New Bedford for seven years, according to relatives, has been waiting for a kidney transplant for three, said Gerardo. He takes blood pressure medication and other prescriptions during the day and requires dialysis three times a week. “If he doesn’t get dialysis he gets very sick,” Gerardo said.
Gerardo, Isaias and Rolando spoke with The Light, requesting to be identified only by their second names out of fear.
Justo, who went to work with Marvin every morning, has not made contact with his family. His brother, Isaias, said they have received no information about his location or whether he is also in custody. “We don’t even know why they arrested them,” said Gerardo.
According to relatives, Justo has lived and worked in New Bedford for three and a half years. A search by The Light at New Bedford District Court on Tuesday showed no criminal records in Massachusetts for either of the two men.
Both are from Chinique, a municipality in Guatemala’s K’iche’ region, and are known in their community for their steady work and keeping a low profile.
Adrian Ventura, director of the Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores, said the organization is monitoring the situation closely and plans to contact the Guatemalan Consulate to inquire about Marvin’s health condition, expressing serious concerns. “What we are denouncing is the violation of human rights — this is an attack on all workers,” Ventura said.
Marvin and Justo are at least the 23rd and 24th individuals confirmed to be arrested in immigration operations in New Bedford since the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, The Light has confirmed.
Those arrested so far have been almost exclusively Guatemalan men. Most of them work in local industries and support families here or back in Guatemala.
Marvin lives in New Bedford with his wife and their 3-month-old daughter. Rolando said he was the one to call her with the news. “She was just desperate,” he said. Gerardo added that the family is stepping in to help. “We will support them with expenses till we find a solution.”
Justo, who supports a wife and a 4-year-old son who are in Guatemala, sends money home every two weeks. “He is a very hard working man,” said Isaias. “He doesn’t drink nor party. He just works hard for his family.”
Joshua Brightman, the lobster department manager at Oceans Fleet, said he knew Marvin and Justo well, having worked with them for years. He said he has been checking the federal immigration online tracker in an effort to locate the men but has not been able to find either of them in the system.
“I’m very concerned about Marvin’s health. He needs his dialysis,” he said.
Brightman said he believes Justo may choose to depart the U.S. rather than fight arrest. “When all these arrests started happening, he told me that if it ever happened to him, he would want to go back to Guatemala to his wife and kid.”
The most recent arrests in New Bedford include Juan Ramón Alegría Rodas, who was taken into custody on May 5 in the North End while on his way to pick up his daughter from school.
An April 14 arrest on Tallman Street, first reported by The Light, drew international attention when agents broke a car window to detain Juan Francisco Méndez near his home. Méndez is still in custody in New Hampshire, despite a judge’s order for his release.
In March, agents used a battering ram to enter a home on Viall Street and pointed guns at teenagers getting ready for school. Their caretakers, Miguel Ordoñez Socop and José Antonio Garcia Garcia, were detained.
Brightman said Marvin and Justo are not the first employees at the company to be arrested since President Trump took office. Like many others, he initially believed immigration agents were targeting criminals.
“But I’ve been seeing it with my own eyes now,” he said. “These are good, hard workers. They’re good people.”
Email Eleonora Bianchi at ebianchi@newbedfordlight.org.
Whoever voted for this, there’s a special place for you in hell.
Break the law, pay the price.!!!!!
Agreed!
Break the law, pay the price.!!!!!!
I feel so much safer with these criminals off the street.
I’d take them as neighbors and friends over family by blood only, any day.
The majority of the voters voted against Trump
Really? If your statement is true, please explain to all of us how President Trump won the 2024 election by both the individual voters, and the electoral college by both throughout the United States of America?
Trump won 49.7% of the popular, not the majority.
Really!
Believe the science.
49.7% is not a landslide.
Unless you are poorly educated.
Meanwhile the maga fish house owners who pay them low wages and draw them to the city in the first place with promises of employment go home to their mansions at night. And all the maga fishermen are happy to keep them busy.
The felon calls them criminals, which they are not criminals. ICE wears mask because they are violating our Constitutional Rights. We need these folks. What a waste of my tax dollars. I walk into these fish plants to sell my catch. I never feel threatened; I walk into establishments employing lots of these folks. This is wrong and must stop, Please do a story on the tax plan LIES next.
Anyone from any nation anywhere in the world who crossed the border to enter the United States of America without first applying to do so, and wasn’t granted “Temporary Protected Status” by the “Immigration and Naturalization Service”, or the “Department of Homeland Security” is a criminal for violating federal laws that were passed by a majority of members in the United States House of Representatives, and the majority of United States Senators who voted in favor of passing the proposed immigration rules that were signed by the President of the United States of America and it became a Federal law, and if that law was violated by anyone, including the nicest, hardest working people from anywhere in the world, they made a choice to ignore the legal process, and instead violated the federal laws and became criminals.
Tell it to the judge.
We the people think differently.
At least in New Bedford.
Are you lonely here?
Soon MAGA can take those jobs in the fish houses! Yay!
the bottom line is you shoulda. coulda woulda came in DOCUMENTED, and it said “they are supporting familys in guatamala”, which once again remittence shoyld be taxed to keep the money here. with housing, healthcare and school shortages, what is the problem cleaning it up? you dont have to be a bad person, just come in legally, because if you get some pregnant you get to stay anyway now on welfare
They pay taxes.
They cut fish.
Citizens will not.
So true.
More shameful Christian MAGA cruelty but, hey, two more job openings for MAGAts.
Just outraged that my tax dollars are paying for this inhumane, un-American way of treating people.
Remember if you are,witness to these illegal and unconstutional arrests and detentions photograph it or video.it get the ICE 🧊 badge numbers ask if they have a JUDGES warrant..all of this is important for future justice to be imposed who deny it to other hard working Americans who just came here to escape violence cartels and poverty in their own countries ..most are working hard so they can bring family to the USA .Doesn’t the fishing industry benefit from their labor will the Fish boat owners who voted for MAGA winked their eyes at low cost labor and go to their fancy safe houses in Dartmouth replace the lost Guatemalan workers ..silence equals complicity if you see an injustice do something..all we can do.now is document and protest.. in time MAGAS revenge time will be up..the majority of the American people will see to it
I know Marvin. He’s a really good guy. Beautiful family, salt of the earth people from humble background. And he’s the father of a US citizen. His medical condition is not something to mess around with. If he doesn’t get dialysis and medication while in immigration detention, ICE will have blood on their hands.
Deuteronomy 24:14
14 Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.
So let’s give an illegal a kidney and take away from the American citizen. New Bedford light is nothing but a left wing propaganda machine that will not exist in another 2 years. Get with it ! America voted for a mandate! overwhelming for a Trump agenda!!!! The looney liberal left party is over and good riddance!
The new Bedford Light is an accurate reflection of the politics of the majority of New Bedford.
Why does the minority lack a forum?
Free, independent news my ass you guys even monitor the responses and if not with your agenda you don’t allow it to post . Corrupt, communist , American news!!!
As does Fox.
Undocumented = ILLEGAL, why don’t you bleeding hearts stop crying over deported illegal immigrants? I’ll be happy when a Republican governor is elected and Medicaid is cut permanently. You want food, a home, healthcare, transportation, and more, get a job and pay for it like I do.
Dear Tax Payer. Life has a way of coming at you sideways. No one can predict that they will not suffer a debilitating injury or illness that prevents them from working. If that happened to someone, they might appreciate having social safety nets that help them feed, house and provide medical care for them and their loved ones. There but for fortune go you and I. And people accused of a crime are entitled to their due process rights and their day in court before being jailed. Peace be with you.
Arrest people who work?
This article sheds light on the harsh realities faced by undocumented immigrants like Marvin and Justo, who contribute significantly to their communities yet are subjected to inhumane treatment. Their stories highlight the urgent need for compassionate immigration reform. It’s crucial for us to advocate for their rights and recognize the human cost of policies that prioritize enforcement over humanity.