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Portland restaurant worker mistakenly deported to Guatemala, ICE agrees to return him

Jan 28, 2026 · Portland, ME, Guatemala

Portland restaurant worker mistakenly deported to Guatemala, ICE agrees to return him

Domingo Tot Quip, a 31-year-old Portland resident from Guatemala and restaurant worker, was arrested at a bus stop in January 2026 during an ICE enforcement operation while heading to work. ICE agents mistakenly identified him as another Guatemalan man with the same first name and birthday who had a final removal order, despite Tot Quip having valid identification documents with him at the time of arrest. He spoke primarily an indigenous Guatemalan language, had no criminal history, and had never interacted with ICE before. A federal judge ordered ICE not to remove him from the country, but Tot Quip was deported to Guatemala one day after the order. His attorney, Kerry Doyle, alleged racial profiling was involved in the misidentification. After months in Guatemala, ICE acknowledged "the gravity of the inadvertent removal" in court records and agreed to return Tot Quip to the U.S. at government expense, with his return to Maine expected in August 2026.

Timeline

Aug 2026ICE agrees to return Tot Quip to the U.S. at government expense after months in Guatemala; expected arrival in Maine
Jan 2026Domingo Tot Quip arrested at bus stop by ICE agents during enforcement operation; mistakenly identified as another man with same first name and birthday
Jan 2026Federal judge orders ICE not to remove Tot Quip from the country
Jan 2026Tot Quip deported to Guatemala one day after judge's order despite having valid identification documents

Sources

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