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.”

Article courtesy of Eleonora Bianchi and The New Bedford Light. Read more here.