A Jamaican man who spent roughly 12 years living in the United States has been deported back to Jamaica, and he is now accusing U.S. immigration authorities of unfairly damaging his reputation.

The man, Altiman Peterkin, had been living in Massachusetts, where he worked in construction and reportedly operated his own business.

According to the Jamaica Gleaner, Peterkin originally entered the United States legally on a fiancé visa. However, after that relationship ended, he remained in the country and his immigration status was never resolved.

Earlier this year, Peterkin was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, just days after the birth of his son. He was later ordered removed from the country and deported to Jamaica.

But the bigger controversy surrounds the way U.S. authorities publicly described his criminal history.

Federal immigration officials listed a number of serious allegations connected to Peterkin, including grape, assault and threats. Peterkin strongly disputes that portrayal and says some of the most serious accusations against him were dismissed.

The Gleaner also reported that court records connected to some of those allegations showed that no probable cause was found.

Peterkin says he accepts that his immigration status was not legal, but argues that he should not have been publicly portrayed as a violent criminal based on accusations that did not result in convictions.

He also says the publicity has affected his family and damaged the reputation he built over more than a decade in America.

The case is now raising a wider question about immigration enforcement and public records.

Should immigration authorities clearly distinguish between someone being accused of a crime and actually being convicted of one?

And even if someone is in the country illegally, should dismissed allegations still be used when describing them publicly?

Peterkin is now back in Jamaica, while his partner, children and the life he built remain in the United States.