On October 24th, Alfredo Urbano Uriepero was abducted by ICE while warming up the car to bring his four children to our school. The abduction happened outside their front door while his partner and children watched in horror from the window. His friend and landlord, Mr. Vincent, ran to tell the masked agents that Alfredo has his documents, work visa, and has no criminal record. ICE agents screamed at him to get back and threatened Mr. Vincent, a U.S. citizen, with arrest and violence if he did not back away. The agents screamed that Alfredo was illegal and dragged him away, leaving his keys still in the ignition of his car and the door open.

Alfredo is a great father, provider, and member of our school community. He works hard to take care of his family, waking up at 3 in the morning to collect his deliveries for the day, coming home at 8 to take the children to school, and then delivering packages until 6 in the evening. He even delivers on Saturdays and often has to miss his daughters' soccer games.

If deported to Venezuela, Alfredo faces prison time for his activism as a political dissident who was often arrested, beaten, and threatened by the Maduro regime as he protested their human rights violations, censoring of the press, and the massive inflation that caused so many to starve. His family left Venezuela to escape the constant threats of violence and imprisonment.

The good news is that Alfredo qualifies to be returned to Chicago and released on bail pending his court date. The bad news is that without his income, the family has no way to pay for a lawyer and his bond fees. We are asking that people donate to his legal fund to help us reunite Alfredo with his children and partner so they can continue living the life they worked so hard for.