Help Free Sergio – A Hardworking Father Caught in ICE Mistake

My name is Mark Wise, and I’m raising funds for Sergio Magaña Castañeda, a kind and honest man who has been part of our local community for over 20 years. Sergio was recently detained by ICE due to a case of mistaken identity involving an old warrant for someone else. When ICE ran his information, they discovered he was undocumented. Despite not being the person they were searching for, Sergio was taken into custody. Funds will be deposited into my account and with those funds I will use 100% of the funds to go to his legal fees. He now has an attorney. It appears the entire process if about $20,000 with bail, legal fees, and takes several years. Our goal is to get him out on bail and set up a payment plan for further legal fees, Tomorrow we give $5000 to the legal team, in hopes of getting a bond and he is released, there is a 50% chance of success. Thank you all so much for your help

Sergio is not a criminal. He works 6–7 days a week—holidays, weekends, whatever is needed—to support his family. He does the kind of hard work many people avoid, and he does it with humility, integrity, and kindness.

Thanks to quick action, we were able to hire a bilingual immigration attorney to represent him. His hearing is scheduled for late June. We’ve already paid $1,500 toward legal fees, but we urgently need to raise:

$3,500 for the next legal payment

Approximately $5,000 for bond

Additional support for his family, who are now without his income

Sergio’s detention is part of an aggressive local ICE sweep across Watsonville, Santa Cruz, and Salinas. The system is overwhelmed, and families are being torn apart.

We are asking for your support to help right this wrong. Every donation—large or small—will go directly to:

✅ Legal defense

✅ Bond and release

✅ Family support during this crisis

Thank you for helping us bring Sergio home. Your compassion and generosity mean the world.

I wrote this and ChatGPT helped me refine the request. This is not only stressful for him and his family but for us too....again..thank you