Help Grego Come Home and Fight His Immigration Case

Ayúdanos a traer a Grego a casa y luchar por su caso migratorio

Jose Gregorio Pena Pacheco, known to his family and friends as Grego, was unexpectedly detained by ICE in Davenport, Florida on September 17, 2026.

At around 7:30 a.m., Grego left his apartment to take out the trash. He was still in his pajamas and wasn't even wearing shoes. He got into his car to drive the short distance to the dumpster.

He never made it back home. He was detained by ICE while in his car.

Jose Gregorio Pena Pacheco, conocido por su familia y amigos como Grego, fue detenido inesperadamente por ICE en Davenport, Florida, el 17 de septiembre de 2026. Alrededor de las 7:30 a.m., salió de su apartamento para llevar la basura al contenedor. Todavía estaba en pijama y ni siquiera llevaba zapatos. Se subió a su carro para recorrer la corta distancia hasta el contenedor, pero nunca regresó a casa. Fue detenido por ICE mientras estaba en su carro.

About Grego / Sobre Grego

What has happened so far / Lo que ha pasado hasta ahora

September 17, 2026, around 7:30 a.m.: Grego was detained by ICE while taking out his trash. His car was left behind and was later towed.

September 18, 2026, around 8:30 p.m.: Grego was finally able to call his sister, Eliana, from detention. He could not tell her where he was or even the name of the facility holding him.

September 19, 2026: Grego was supposed to call his family again. As of 7:30 p.m. Eastern, that call has not happened.

El 17 de septiembre de 2026, alrededor de las 7:30 a.m., Grego fue detenido por ICE. El 18 de septiembre, alrededor de las 8:30 p.m., finalmente pudo llamar a su hermana Eliana, pero no pudo decirle dónde estaba ni el nombre del centro donde lo tienen. Grego debía volver a llamar a su familia el 19 de septiembre, pero hasta las 7:30 p.m., hora del Este, esa llamada no ha ocurrido.

We don't know why Grego hasn't called. We don't want to speculate about what his silence means. What it does mean is that his family currently has no direct communication with him and still cannot independently confirm exactly where he is or whether he is receiving his medication.

No sabemos por qué Grego no ha llamado y no queremos especular sobre lo que significa su silencio. Lo que sí sabemos es que su familia actualmente no tiene comunicación directa con él y todavía no puede confirmar exactamente dónde está ni si está recibiendo su medicamento.

With help from people familiar with the immigration detention system, we believe Grego is likely being held at Baker County Detention Center in Florida, but we are still trying to confirm this.

Con ayuda de personas familiarizadas con el sistema de detención migratoria, creemos que Grego probablemente se encuentra en Baker County Detention Center en Florida, pero todavía estamos tratando de confirmarlo.

What Grego told his sister / Lo que Grego le dijo a su hermana

During his September 18 call, Grego said he had been given three documents written in English, not his native Spanish, and was being asked to choose between them.

According to what Grego was able to explain:

We have not seen these documents ourselves, so we don't want to claim that we know exactly what they legally mean.

His family has contacted an immigration attorney in Florida. Our priority is getting qualified legal representation to Grego as quickly as possible and determining whether he can come home and fight his case outside of detention.

Todavía no hemos visto estos documentos, por lo que no queremos afirmar exactamente qué significan legalmente. Su familia se ha comunicado con un abogado de inmigración en Florida. Nuestra prioridad es conseguir representación legal para Grego lo antes posible y determinar si puede regresar a casa y continuar su caso fuera de detención.

Our most urgent concern is his medication

Nuestra preocupación más urgente es su medicamento

Grego has a chronic illness that requires daily medication.

Because he was detained completely unexpectedly while taking out his trash, he did not have his medication with him.

As of September 19, his family has not been able to confirm that Grego has received his medication since being detained.

A source with knowledge of the facility and specifically the medical care available there has told us that, if Grego is at Baker County, he will need to request a medical evaluation to get access to his medication and may need to be transported or transferred for medical care.

Grego tiene una enfermedad crónica que requiere medicación diaria. Como fue detenido inesperadamente mientras sacaba la basura, no llevaba su medicamento. Hasta el 19 de septiembre, su familia no ha podido confirmar que haya recibido su medicina desde que fue detenido. Una fuente con conocimiento del centro y específicamente de la atención médica disponible allí nos ha informado que, si Grego está en Baker County, tendrá que solicitar una evaluación médica para acceder a su medicamento y podría necesitar ser transportado o trasladado para recibir atención médica.

Right now our most urgent priorities are locating Grego, restoring communication with him, getting an immigration attorney connected with him, and making sure he receives his medication.

En este momento nuestras prioridades más urgentes son localizar a Grego, restablecer la comunicación con él, conectarlo con un abogado de inmigración y asegurarnos de que reciba su medicamento.

Why we're raising $15,000 / Por qué estamos recaudando $15,000

We don't yet know what this situation is going to cost, and we don't want to pretend that we do.

What we currently know:

The $15,000 initial goal is not a claim that we know Grego needs exactly $15,000. It is intended to make sure that we are financially prepared to act as we learn what is required.

La meta inicial de $15,000 no significa que sepamos que Grego necesita exactamente $15,000. Queremos asegurarnos de estar económicamente preparados para actuar a medida que sepamos qué se necesita.

Transparency about the money / Transparencia sobre el dinero

We are not trying to raise money simply for the sake of raising money.

Grego's family, his friends and I will contribute and raise as much as we possibly can ourselves. We have some resources, but they are limited. We are asking the community to help us fill the gap, not to carry this entire situation for us.

If we determine that substantially less than $15,000 is needed, we will lower the fundraising goal. If we ultimately learn that only $5,000 is realistically needed, for example, we will reduce the goal accordingly.

This fundraiser is not intended for personal financial gain for me, Grego, his family or his friends. It exists specifically to help Grego through this detention and his immigration case.

If money remains after Grego's situation and the related expenses have been resolved, the remaining funds will be donated to a nonprofit organization providing immigration advocacy or assistance. We will identify that organization in an update so everyone who contributed knows where the remaining money went.

No estamos recaudando dinero simplemente por recaudar dinero. La familia de Grego, sus amigos y yo también contribuiremos y recaudaremos todo lo que podamos. Si descubrimos que se necesita considerablemente menos de $15,000, reduciremos la meta. Esta recaudación existe únicamente para ayudar a Grego con esta situación. Si queda dinero después de resolver su situación y los gastos relacionados, los fondos restantes serán donados a una organización sin fines de lucro que brinde apoyo o defensa a inmigrantes, y publicaremos una actualización indicando dónde fueron donados.

We will keep updating this page / Seguiremos actualizando esta página

There are still many things we simply don't know, and we aren't going to fill those gaps with guesses.

We will post updates as we learn:

If you can donate, thank you. If you can't, please share this fundraiser.

Right now, getting information and getting people connected to Grego matters almost as much as raising money. We need to know where he is, whether he is safe, whether he has his medication, and what we need to do to get him legal representation and bring him home.

Si puedes donar, gracias. Si no puedes, por favor comparte esta recaudación. En este momento necesitamos saber dónde está Grego, si está bien, si tiene su medicamento y qué tenemos que hacer para conseguirle representación legal y traerlo a casa.