SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The Department of Homeland Security warned another U.S. citizen to leave the country immediately.

This is the second time a case like this has happened in San Diego County to a resident dedicated to working with undocumented immigrants.

“The most rewarding thing about that is making sure those individuals to have their day in court,” said Adam Peña, a local immigration attorney.

He’s worked specifically as an immigration attorney for more than a year, focusing on removal defense cases, and he says he loves what he does because this is a “country of immigrants.”

“My family has been here for over 100 years,” he said. “They immigrated here over a century ago.”

The tables turned on Peña when he received an email from DHS on April 11.

“I was stunned because right off the bat it says, ‘It’s time for you to leave the United States.’”  

Because of his work, Peña says he communicates with DHS on some of his cases, so he believes the Trump administration wanted to send a message with this notice.   

“I feel it was sent as a form of intimidation,” Peña said.

This comes as the Trump administration continues to expand their efforts to increase the deportations of undocumented immigrant.

“They’re not even here legally,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. “They didn’t even get here properly, and immediately they’re demanding rights in court under our laws.”

In a statement, a senior DHS official said, “If a non-personal email—such as an American citizen contact—was provided by the alien, notices may have been sent to unintended recipients. CBP is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis.”

“They’re saying it’s a mistake, but they’ve also made a lot of mistakes in the past too, and those mistakes turned out to be costly,” Peña said in response.  

While he is a U.S. citizen, Peña says he plans to carry his passport and birth certificate with him in case he gets detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.