*Some names have been changed to protect the family’s privacy*

Tuesday, August 12, I got the stomach dropping text that I never expected to actually impact someone I know and care about, “Leo was picked up by ICE.” One of my best friends since childhood, Erin, delivered the heart stopping news. Erin and I have worked in restaurants while putting ourselves through college, which is where we were lucky enough to cross paths with Leo. Erin and Leo have worked together for the past two years, serving and cooking food at a locally owned restaurant.

Leo’s wife Ana has been working at the restaurant as well, along with her sister Maria. Leo, Anna, and Maria all have social security numbers, pay their taxes, work hard, and are good people; just like me and Erin. The only difference between us, is that Erin and I were privileged enough to be born in a country where we did not have to flee for our lives.

Leo and his family were born in Venezuela, where the government was extremely dangerous. Despite doing everything they could to provide for themselves, there was not enough money to survive.

Leo, his wife Ana, Ana’s sister Maria, her husband and kids all arrived to the United States in December 2023; following Secretary Mayorkas’s extension of the original Venezuela 2021 TPS designation, as well as the more recent “redesignation” (Venezuela 2023 designation).

Since their arrival here in the United States, they have done everything as they have been told. Leo’s family has filled out the necessary paperwork, paid the legal fees, the filing fees, gone to their required immigration hearings, appointments, and proceedings; all while living in a new country, while having to learn a whole new language. Leo and his wife Ana have been on TPS (Temporary Protected Status) and EAD (Employment Authorization Document), while Ana’s family was able to secure a more permanent form of residency.

As soon as Leo’s family was able to work here, they began working as cooks at a local restaurant in the beginning of 2024, where they first met Erin. Erin has worked at the restaurant for over two years, while completing college and a related certification post-grad. I only covered shifts when needed at the restaurant, but came in to visit on the way home from my other job or college classes, which is when I was introduced to Leo. Despite not speaking the same language, friendship finds a way to communicate; through laughter, tiktok dances, “spanglish” jokes, and the countless hours spent together at the restaurant.

Leo works two jobs, landscaping overtime hours to pay the copious legal and filings fees that come with maintaining good standing in the U.S. immigration system. His family pays taxes, claims their income to the IRS, works hard, and follows the laws; just like Erin and I. The only difference is the borders in which they were born in.

Tuesday, August 12, Leo was a passenger in a vehicle of traffic stop that occurred in Tonawanda. The traffic stop was conducted by masked individuals, in unmarked cars. This led to confusion about what specific agency he was taken by, for what reason, and where to. His boss was informed later that day that he was being taken to Customs and Border Protection station in Tonawanda, but confusion remained.

United States Citizenship Immigration Services (USCIS), is the agency of Department of Homeland Security that takes care of the country’s immigration and naturalization process. Leo filed his required paperwork with USCIS, who said he was, and still is, in good standing with them. We were told that Leo would get a hearing with USCIS within a couple of days to figure out what the confusion was about.

Customs and Border Patrol Buffalo Station in Tonawanda, where Leo was being held, is not a detention facility. They are not equipped to hold people long term, and only allow visits from an attorney. Due to the fact that the reason Leo is detained remains unclear, we have been unable to secure a local attorney through any non-profit organizations or pro bono representation. We have been unable to obtain representation from Volunteer Lawyers Project, Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York, and Journey’s End Refugee Services.

Leo’s wife Ana has spent what money she had on an attorney from New Jersey, who her family had used in the past because they knew him. While in Custom’s and Border Patrol’s custody in Tonawanda, we have yet to get a response from them, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or USCIS regarding an explanation for his ongoing detainment.

When I could get a call through to ICE, I was told when they looked up his alien number in their system, there was no open case, so they did not know why he was detained. All they could tell us was that he was in Customs and Border Patrol custody, which we already knew. Both Leo’s attorney and I failed to get into contact with someone from CBP because if you tried to call, you had to know an agents extension to call directly, or leave a message. When the phone menu concluded and you were lead to the inbox to leave a message, the line would hang up. Leo’s attorney filed a Notice of Appearance and did not get a response to that either.

Tuesday, August 19, one week after Leo was detained, after exhausting all other routes, I reached out to Congressman Tim Kennedy’s office to see if they had any resources. I was transferred to his immigration support department who has provided generous resources for the family. A case worker from Congressman Kennedy’s office provided us with a privacy waiver to have Leo fill out to reach out to ICE on his behalf. That same day, exactly one week since Leo’s detainment, his wife Ana got a call that he would be transferred to the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, NY and be in ICE custody.

Wednesday, August 20, Leo’s wife Ana received a call from Leo that he had arrived at the ICE detention facility in Batavia. The following day, I took the 45 minute drive to the detention facility for visitation hours. Before my arrival, Leo had to put my name on his visitation list. I am thankful he knew to put my name down, as Erin and I had no prior contact with him since his detainment over a week ago. Cars were stopped at a gate prior to entering the parking lot for the detention facility, to identify that the visitors had the correct information for the person they were visiting. Then, the ICE officer made sure the identified detainee being visited was approved for visitation, they hand you a paper and give the visitor a paper to fill out inside and directions for parking.

After I parked my car in the ICE detention facility parking lot, I walked inside to fill out the form identifying who I was again, as well as Leo’s processing information.

Erin and I have been traveling to visit Leo at the detention facility in Batavia weekly since his arrival. We have been trying to support his family as much as possible during this unimaginable time, but we have run out of resources. I have been delivering donated groceries from Justice For Migrant Families to try and help Leo’s family, but there are bills that need to be paid. Rent keeps coming, bills keep coming, legal fees are not slowing down, and Leo’s wife Ana is beginning to lose hope. They have kids to take care of, which leads Ana to feeling like a bad mother. This is not true, she has been failed by the system she was born into. All funds are going directly to Ana.

September 5, 2025 Leo’s messaging abilities have been discontinued and we are unaware of his whereabouts. His wife Ana or his attorney have not received notice of him being transferred to a different facility. This is a tactic ICE uses to make it more difficult on detainees and their families. He is scheduled for a hearing in Batavia in two weeks, but until then, we do not know where he is.