On November 24th, just 3 days before Thanksgiving, my brother in law, Allan Michael Marrero (nee Dabrio) was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or as they are more commonly known "ICE".

He and my brother, Matthew, had a scheduled meeting for their green card interview with USCIS. They had also been accompanied by their pastor. After harsh questioning about the validity of their marriage, they were told by the officer interviewing them that they had until the end of the year to rectify an issue from 2022 that they were unaware of until that very moment. She informed them that there was an order out for his removal and therefore that his green card was NOT approved. They did approve the application to state their marriage was bonafide. They knew nothing of a removal order and Allan, who has been meticulous with his paperwork since his arrival in 2013, was devastated. They were promised throughout the tough and awkward interview, that they would be able to leave the building safely and told to immediately seek legal counsel and get in front of an immigration judge as soon as possible. As the interview continued, the officer kept getting up to come and go from her office. When she returned the last time, her tone changed. Before bidding them a good day, she admitted to my brother that she only could control what happened in her office and had no guarantees of their safe departure. When my brother asked if they would be detained after the interview, she then stated she didn’t know. After exiting the room, they followed the officer's supervisor down a maze of hallways and into the hands of ICE agents. They took my brother in law without so much as a second to say goodbyes. He was then moved to the 10th floor of the Federal building. He sat on the floor with a foil blanket. My brother was informed he'd get a call from Allan at 3 pm, yet that call never came. I drove to Brooklyn with my mother to drop her off with the car as he doesn't have one himself and we knew he needed our support now more than ever. My mom, brother, and the pastor went to the Federal building the following morning to insist an ICE agent give Allan his needed medications, but were quickly informed that my brother in law was moved to facility in New Jersey with no notice or warning to his family or loved ones. The first time Matt was able to speak to him was a 3 minute phone call over 24 hrs later where Allan informed my brother that they took and kept his suit, his phone, and worst of all, his wedding ring at the Federal building. He was given a uniform and they shackled his wrists and ankles and transported him to New Jersey. Because we fortunately left the car in Brooklyn, my mom and Matt were able to drive to see him. Outside it was cold, uncomfortable, smelly and, due to the day, rainy. My mother and brother were prevented from bringing anything in but their IDs. Inside, the conditions are that of a prison. Allan was placed in a room with 9 others. The visitation takes place in a large room much like a cafeteria where the noise is at an all time high. Agents yelled at my brother for holding his husband's hands.

This is the reality of ICE’s cruelty.

Allan is not a criminal.

He's never been arrested.

He has done everything correctly as far as immigration processes.

He is a law-abiding, tax paying, work visa holding SHOULD BE citizen, who left the Cayman Islands to come to the USA to seek asylum from discrimination against homosexuality.

A man who fell in love in a place he felt safe to do so. And after being married to Matthew for over two years, is entitled to a green card based on a bonafide marriage. Not to be blindsided when doing what they were told is the right thing to do.

He is member of his community and an active member at Middle Church in Manhattan.

Despite this injustice, he still wants to call the United States his home. He wants to continue to build the life he and my brother were creating.

Please help my brother and his husband during this difficult time.

Between needing a car to get to a facility nearly an hour away, cost of living, commissary funds, legal fees, and reapplication fees, your help is needed and greatly appreciated.

Please stay tuned as updates will be added along the way.

UPDATE**

At 12:30am December 11th, my brother in law was woken up and told to strip his bed and strip his clothes because they would be relocating him. He was able to hastily call my brother to update him. They then gave him the clothes he arrived in to change into. He was made to wait out in the hallway as the other detainees ransacked his snacks and the items that he had paid for in detention, but was not allowed to take. He was made to wait in the visitation area with 60 others cold and uncomfortable from the time he left his room at 1 in the morning to 12:30 in the afternoon. He was then shackled and transported to a plane where he would be moved. 24 hours passed with us in a panic. Where would they move him? What if we couldn’t get to him? Was he okay? At approximately December 12th at 1am our time, Allan Michael called again to inform Matthew that he was moved to PHOENIX, ARIZONA. My brother’s screams of dismay woke the entire house. He was not even in the detention center, but in an interim cell with a maximum occupancy of 21 people OVERCROWDED with 60+. Nowhere to sit. No where to sleep. Cuts and bruises where his shackles were.

We are all absolutely disgusted not at just the treatment, but at the removal of our brother in law to a place so far from our reach and so far from his support system. It is a 37 hour drive or an 6-8 hour plane ride. We have jobs and responsibilities. Most families do. How do they expect us to see him? Afford the travel? The short answer is that they don’t. They don’t care if he never interacts with a loved one or family again.

This is inhumane. This is sick. This is abuse. INNOCENT people/detainees like my brother in law are stripped of their dignity and placed in a purgatory like place that feels more like hell. And precisely what is he to learn from this? To do the right thing? No. He’s been doing that and is STILL being treated this way. Perhaps he learns that mistakes are met with cruelty and abuse unless you’re in a position of power where mistakes are simply washed away by money.

This is supposed to be Holiday time. Where families sit together to create memories by playing games and eating food, laughing and opening gifts. Instead we’ve been given this nightmare.

Shame on this administration that’s claims to be family first.

Shame on this administration that cares more about the money in one’s wallet than the content of one’s character.

Justice for families.

Justice for humanity.

JUSTICE FOR ALLAN MICHAEL.

UPDATE #2

Three major holidays have passed. Almost eight weeks of my brother in law’s young life has been taken from him. Eight weeks he could’ve been working and saving for his life and the American dream that was promised to him. Eight weeks that he could’ve spent with his husband, family, and all our dogs. For Allan, there was no turkey or spoken gratitudes. No gifts, carols, or corny Hallmark movies. No resolutions or fireworks. There was simply cold, oppressive, misery-- without so much as a book to entertain himself. As an english speaking gay man in detention, there is a unique sadness to his situation. The descriptions remind me of high school. Acquaintances made along the way have come and go. Some were split up to different centers. Some of those with similar cultural backgrounds have been kind, but others have been homophobic. Others who don’t share his culture might not speak the same language and despite attempts to be kind from both sides, a true connection can’t be made due to the language barrier. TV is limited or mostly in spanish, there is limited access if any to books, paper, pens, and media of any kind. Stuck in limbo. Alive, but not living. Perhaps the cruelest side effect of ICE and it’s dentention centers is that of loneliness. In the middle of nowhere, far away from the life you built and those who love you. A place with no love, no hugs, or words of encouragement that aren't coming out of a phone. It is inhumane and impossible to comprehend. When his case is heard and he is released, and he WILL be released, the journey back to normalcy will not be an easy one. The traumatic stress of being plucked from your life not knowing where you are going or where you’d end up, all the while knowing there was no real cause to this effect aside from a civil offense. Therapy will be essential to his healing. He will require constant reminders that he is worthy of all things human—love, kindess and respect. Togetherness and concentrated connectivity to those who lift him up—His husband, his family, his congregation at Middle Church, his friends, and his coworkers. That is what will heal him. People like us or even strangers who have donated, spread the word, signed the petitions, made the phone calls--It is we who will remind him why the world is beautiful. Why all things good and just are always worth fighting for.

Justice for Allan Michael.