Stand with Moises: A Fight for Justice

Moises with his students

Moises teaching a cycling class

Moises leading a Zumba class with the Mayor of Puerto Vallarta

Moises first few days in Dallas with his father

Hello friends and new friends,

Excuse the length of this, but it was important to give a back story. For those of you who don’t know Moises Anwar Alba, I want to introduce you to a dear friend of ours. Not just a friend, but family!

Moises was born in Brownsville, Texas in 1991. His mom lived there with her parents when Moises was born. Sometime after he was born, his mom moved him to Mexico and raised him there. Moises didn’t have a relationship with his father growing up. His father still lived in Texas. Moises met his father a few times after he turned 18.

Moises graduated high school and went to college in Mexico where he attained his Master’s Degree in Education. He became a teacher. He taught English to his Mexican students. In addition to teaching, Moises was locally well known as a great Cycling and Zumba Instructor as well as a Fitness Coach.

After teaching for about 10 years in Mexico, Moises made the decision to move to Dallas in 2022 and begin to build a relationship with his father. He loved his new city. He quickly attained jobs at LA Fitness and Fitness Connection as a Zumba Instructor, as well as other areas of fitness.

He knew he was born in Texas, but he didn’t have any documentation with him of his birth. I took him to Vital Statistics in downtown Dallas and stood beside him as he received the first certified copy of his Birth Certificate. He was so proud to get it. He then obtained his Social Security Card and Texas Driver’s License.

In the Spring of 2023, we were able to help him get a job substitute school teaching. He was so glad to be back in the classroom. In the summer of 2023, he was offered a full-time teaching position. He began his new career in August of 2023 and his kids instantly fell in love with him.

About this same time, Moises had submitted an application to obtain his U.S. Passport. After many months of waiting, he went to the passport office in Dallas to see if he could figure out what was causing the delay. He was arrested at the office and taken to federal prison. He didn’t understand why and was obviously scared.

He was charged with making a “false statement on a U.S. passport application”. The statement in question was listing his father as his point of contact, as his dad was not listed as a parent on his birth certificate (he wasn’t involved with the birth, etc.). Thus, the charge of the “false statement”. That was at the end of September 2023.

Moises was released from Federal Prison with “time served” as his sentence, on May 1, 2024. He was then taken to the Immigration Facility where he is today. He is fighting the U.S. Government to prove his U.S. citizenship so he can avoid being deported. We are now trying to get him released on bond so that he can get out of prison and go back to work while he continues to fight his citizenship case.

His dad, who is not a wealthy man, has already spent over $20,000 fighting the first charge. He drained his savings and just doesn’t have the kind of money to keep fighting. I found an attorney who will take his Bond hearing case so that he can argue why Moises needs to be released. The attorney says he has a great case to prove his citizenship with a lot of documentation – that is if Moises can get that hearing. His dad was able to pay the $1500 for the attorney – but he is completely out of money. There is no money for his bond or to hire the attorney to represent him on the immigration portion of his fight.

The bond, as well as the attorney fee for the immigration portion of the case will total about $15,000. We are asking for some help to be able to get him released from immigration prison. Every penny will go to help pay for this.

Moises can light up a room with his smile. He never meets a stranger. Even while in prison, I talk to him almost every day on the phone, he is up and maintains an optimistic disposition. Moises stays positive – knowing he did nothing wrong. He always asks about me and my family and how we are before I can check on him. The world needs more friends, teachers, fitness instructors - and family – like Moises. Please take a moment to think about helping us bring Moises home.