Help Will Fight for Asylum and Freedom

My name is Karri and my fiancé Wilfredo (Will) was wrongfully arrested by ICE on March 25, 2025. He has been detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma since March 26, 2025. Will is from Venezuela and is in the US seeking asylum. When he entered the US, he was put into the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) and would complete regular check-ins with an immigration case manager, leading up to his final asylum hearing scheduled for April 2027. However, in March, he notified his case manager that we were planning a vacation to Denver to visit my family. His case manager asked him to come into her office to provide her with our flight information. When he arrived, instead of meeting his case manager, ICE officers were there waiting for him and arrested him. They claim that he missed 9 check-ins with his case manager. This is not true. Will was an easy target because he follows the rules and shows up.

On April 23, 2025, Will appeared before a judge for his first hearing. He submitted his asylum application, and the judge moved his final hearing from April 2027 to July 2025. He was told to gather evidence and prepare to present his asylum case in July. He was not released. We are not sure how he is expected to prepare from the detention center. He needs to be able to reach out to family and find old friends online. He needs access to his cell phone, his Facebook, etc. There is only so much I can do to help him prepare, as I do not speak Spanish. He does have access to phone and video calls from the detention center, but it costs money, especially to call internationally. He has submitted a request to ICE for release or for a bond hearing. We are still waiting for a response. Every process or step in this has been extremely confusing, contradictory, and/or cumbersome, which I am sure is intentional. In order to be successful in this fight, he would need an attorney, which are VERY expensive IF they will represent detainees. We have received some legal advice from NWIRP; however, they are very overwhelmed and underfunded, so they are not able to represent him in court.

Will is a kind and loving man. Will is NOT a criminal. He has nothing in his background. He has done everything asked of him. He doesn't deserve this treatment. He has now been detained for 6 weeks. Will is not doing well. He has been depressed since the beginning of this, but it is getting worse. He is really struggling from the stress of the situation, stress due to the facility, lack of sleep, and poor nutrition. The detention center is understaffed, so there is usually around 10 hours in between meals. He has some snacks and ramen that I order from the commissary, but he is 47. He is not a 20-year-old college student that can survive on eating ramen every day. I can't imagine what that level of sodium is doing to him. He has lost a lot of weight; I can see it in his face. Additionally, his psoriasis is getting worse due to the stress and diet. He saw the medic when he was first detained, and they gave him some sort of cream for the psoriasis, but it made it worse. He is also now sick with a cold or something. He said there are people there with COVID; I am hoping that is not what he has. There are no masks available to them. I am able to visit Will; however, he is behind glass, and we speak over a phone. The treatment that Will and the other detainees are receiving is inhumane and discriminatory! The primary picture in this GoFundMe is of Will and me on March 23, two days before he was arrested. In the second photo/screenshot, I captured a moment from a video call with Will as he watched Colton’s soccer game on May 3rd. The pain and weight of this experience are written all over his face.

Will and I met last year in the produce section at Walmart; it was super cute. We quickly fell head over heels for each other. We are very much alike, and we really enjoy sharing our cultures with each other. He has also been a remarkable father figure to my children, naturally stepping into that role without me ever having to ask. We’re dreaming of brighter days and a future filled with love, healing, and hope.

This ordeal has felt like an unbearable weight and an emotional rollercoaster for Will, me, and our families. Please consider donating to help support Will. Donations will be used towards legal assistance, bond if granted, commissary purchases, phone calls, gas for driving to Tacoma, and any other expenses that are needed to support him.

We deeply appreciate all your love and support!