Aliya Gomez, 6, waited almost three months for this moment — the moment she could hug her father again.

Julio Patricio Gomez was locked up in an ICE detention center since October, but he was released Tuesday and his deportation was put on hold.

What You Need To Know

  • On Oct. 14, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers took Julio Patricio Gomez into custody

  • Gomez says he came to the U.S. from Ecuador more than 20 years ago and applied for asylum

  • He missed a court date in 2010 and a judge issued an order of removal

  • His release comes just days after NY1 exclusively aired his daughter's plea

"I'm like, 'No. This can’t be real,' and the moment I saw her, it was just amazing, because this is my life," Gomez said.

His release came just days after NY1 exclusively aired his daughter's plea.

Authorities responded to our inquiry, saying Gomez was convicted of a misdemeanor assault two years ago.

He did not serve jail time, and both he and his attorney say he poses no danger to the community and is dedicated to his daughter's upbringing.

"Well, victory here would be to reopen that old order of removal. It was issued in absentia. We're arguing that it was issued unlawfully. And if this process works as as we think it should work, then the order would be reopened and he would have the opportunity to go through an immigration court proceeding with all the rights that come with that,” Make the Road New York attorney Paige Austin, who is representing Gomez, said.

Make the Road New York is a nonprofit organization that helps immigrant and working-class New Yorkers.

Gomez is a single father and works as a supervisor for a construction company. He says he came to the U.S. from Ecuador more than 20 years ago and applied for asylum. However, he missed a court date in 2010 and a judge issued an order of removal.

Gomez says immigration authorities told him they learned where he was when he applied for his driver's license.

That led to an arrest, which is when Make the Road New York joined his case.

Their lawyers appealed his deportation and posted a petition for his release, asking to have the deportation put on hold until his appeal can be heard — all of this has now been granted.

With the backlog in immigration courts, it might take years for his hearing to occur.

​But for now, those years can be spent here at home rebuilding his life with his daughter and waiting for his day in court.

"To be able to come back to the place where I lived so many years and where I live with my baby, it's amazing," Gomez said.