As he has done for years, Erik Payan had just opened up his tire repair shop in the small Texas town of Cleveland on February 24 and was getting to work when armed and masked US immigration agents swooped in to arrest him and take him away.

"They've got me," he told his distraught wife over the phone.

While it wasn't an unheard of scene in the United States, such incidents have drawn the glare of scrutiny as President Donald Trump, newly returned to the White House, has lashed out at migrants with particularly violent rhetoric -- raising concerns among many who lack papers that they may be swept up at random for expulsion.

Payan, a Mexican, has lived for 20 of his 51 years in the United States. He entered on a work visa, but stayed on after it expired, making a life with his wife and three daughters, the youngest of them US-born.

His store is licensed, he pays taxes and a mortgage, and is his family's main breadwinner. One daughter is disabled; a granddaughter has a heart condition.

Payan goes to church on Sundays and his neighbors vouch for him. His roots are now in Texas, but he lacks the documents to stay........

© International Business Times