Carlos' Deportation Defense

Valerie Raimonde is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Heather Webb.

Juan Carlos De Jesus Rodriguez, from Mexico, has lived in Georgia for almost 14 years. We met 13 years ago and built a life together that includes our 8 year old son Frankie – Carlos’ pride and joy.

Three weeks ago, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), knocked on the door of our home and claimed they were doing an address verification of Carlos. They threatened my arrest if his whereabouts were not disclosed, I now know that wasn’t true. On my information, they approached him at work and now he is detained in Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, a private detention center, 4 hours away.

Carlos is a good, hard working man and a loving father. Ever since I've known him he has worked 2 jobs. He would regularly get up at 5 am and work till 2 pm in order to get his son from the bus. On the days I didn’t work, he would work his second job until midnight. We both work in the restaurant industry and organized our schedules so our son is with one parent while the other is at work. Now, with Carlos being "locked up", I have to ask friends and family to help look after Frankie, so I can bring in enough to sustain us. Frankie is a homebody and doesn't like to leave his environment, so this has been very difficult for him in so many ways. He doesn't understand why his Papa went away. He's scared and is having a hard time when I leave.

We have hired a lawyer, but that has taken all of our savings. If he gets a bond, we will need money to bail him out and it may be as much as $15,000.

If you would, please consider giving a donation to Carlos' legal defense. Anything will help, we just want him home again.

Thank you, so much.