Advocacy for Anthony

UPDATE: last night I talked to him again. They haven’t told him his charges still, he hasn’t gotten to shower, he hasn’t gotten to brush his teeth, he has been held in a solitary cell, he isn’t able to talk to anyone, he’s only gotten two phone calls. He was detained by ice on Tuesday July 22nd. Anthony is an American citizen and a United States Navy veteran that went to war for this country. He deserves so much more from the country and government he fought for. 

I finally got to talk to Anthony, which was such a relief, but I’m still feeling so stressed. Right now, our family is living a nightmare.

As many of you know, Anthony often drives for rideshare services to supplement his income. Whether it’s Uber, Lyft, or even people asking him to drive them somewhere like, “Hey, I’ll pay $150 for a ride to Austin” and he picks up the driver gigs. On Tuesday, after finishing his day job, he mentioned he was going to drive for a bit to earn some cash for Logan’s football equipment. At 10 PM, he texted me that he had driven to the southwest San Antonio area and said he was going to get some rest before heading home.

When I woke up for work on Wednesday, he still hadn’t come home, and his phone was completely shut off. That’s when fear set in. I called the sheriff’s office to file a missing person report. They told me that our car was last seen in the border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, around 10:30 PM. My fear intensified. I made Facebook posts asking if anyone had heard from him, as my mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario of the car being stolen and him getting hurt.

When I got home from work, the constable came to the house and collected more information from me. Thankfully, the RTTC Division located him safe but reported that he had been detained by Border Patrol for “smuggling illegal aliens.” Anthony is an American citizen, born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is a Navy veteran with deployments under his belt. He is in no way, shape, or form an undocumented immigrant; he didn’t cross any borders or smuggle anyone into the United States, as confirmed earlier by the sheriff’s office that our car was not flagged or spotted at any border crossing stations. The RTTC Division had used highway and intersection cameras to map the route of the vehicle while searching for him as a missing person.

I do know that if he were driving anyone, it was not across any borders, and rideshare drivers do not check passengers' immigration status before giving them a ride. When has a driver ever asked you for your citizenship status? I still don’t even know if he had anyone in the car with him. When I talked to him, he tried to start explaining the situation, but I told him to exercise his Fifth Amendment right and remain silent until we can get an attorney.

As of now, he is still being held by Border Patrol at the Eagle Pass South Station. He hasn’t seen a judge yet, and they hadn’t told him what the charges were; he found out the reason for his detention from me over the phone. They waited until the very last minute of the standard 48 hours, which I’ve been told by attorneys, before allowing him to make a phone call. His rights to due process are not being upheld to the standards we would expect for a United States veteran and citizen. When I called the station to find out more Information the agent on the phone first tried to tell me he wasnt there, when I told the agent that’s not true Moco sheriffs confirmed he was there, the agent became upset, told me he wasnt going to tell me anything and hung up on me.

During this time, I have been searching for a federal attorney to represent him. With the current social climate in America, the entire immigration system seems completely flawed. The potential punishment for his charges could lead to federal prison time, so we need a lawyer who can navigate this situation with us.

As many of you know, Anthony is a loving and devoted father/step-father and partner. He works hard and believes that people should follow the proper steps to obtain residency in the United States. He does not deserve to be in federal prison.

Out of the few attorneys I’ve spoken to, this is expected to be a costly battle. We will likely end up paying anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000. Two of the attorneys said their retainer fee is $20,000, and one mentioned that their consultation alone cost $500. Today, I have a consultation that I paid $200 for, just to talk to them. I have another consultation scheduled on Saturday with a local federal attorney who specializes in this area of law. I looked into legal aid, but the income threshold very low, and is too low for us to qualify.

With that in mind, I am starting this go fund me to help raise funds to hire a federal defense attorney to advocate for Anthony’s rights as an American citizen and United States Navy Veteran. Any and all donations will be greatly appreciated and allocated to legal expenses and bonds.

I want to extend my heartfelt thank you to all our friends and family for the love and support you have shown us over the last few days. Please keep my family in your prayers as we fight to bring Anthony home.