Last Saturday evening a beloved friend and integral member of our community, Donovan, was arrested for a DWI and then was subsequently released into ICE custody. He’s being held three hours away from Dallas and threatened with deportation back to the country he was born in, Namibia. We are fundraising money for his legal fees, bail bond, and as a financial safety net for if he’s deported back to Namibia.

Like many immigrants, Donovan has spent most of his life here in the United States. His family brought him from Namibia when he was just six years old and he has been protected for much of his time here by DACA. Recently, his DACA status lapsed and as a result of pending DUI charges, he hasn’t been able to apply for citizenship. His original plan was to pursue a legal path to citizenship once he was released from a short sentence he was to serve in relation to that initial DUI.

He’s currently being held at Bluebonnet Detention Center, in Anson, Texas, three hours from his home and community in Dallas. ICE has given him few options, all ending in the result of his deportation yet the length of his stay is indeterminate. Throughout this process he, his family, and his friends have been kept in an indiscernible dark about where he’s being taken and how long he could possibly be detained. They have threatened him repeatedly with deportation at the US government’s expense but it’s been suggested that they would have to detain more Namibians in order to make that financially viable. This puts him in a precarious position that could open the door to him potentially being relocated to a different country altogether. His recollection of his time in Namibia is vague and returning back would undoubtedly be traumatic and likely paralyzing given he has little relationship with the customs and language of his country of origin.

All of us collectively are making this GoFundMe for our friend who has become an integral and inextricable part of the Oak Cliff community. Donovan’s consistent presence has been foundational to our experience living in this neighborhood. He’s been a light and a rock for so many of us, and this situation has continued to feel immensely heartbreaking and scary for him, his family and ourselves. He has been a mainstay throughout Bishop Arts and Oak Cliff for the better part of a decade now, holding space for each and every one he comes across with joy, patience, curiosity, and a never ending supply of comic relief. His incredible musical talent and knack for organizing has become the through line for many a friend group and we want to band together to give back what he has given to us tenfold.

ICE has not given us information about how long he will be held and we are waiting for Donovan to see a judge sometime in the next three weeks that will determine the pathway forward. We are navigating a great deal of precarity and uncertainty at the moment.

The money we raise will go towards getting Donovan better legal aid so that he can advocate fully for himself and understand and pursue his best options. It will also go towards paying the outstanding amount remaining on the bail bond. Finally, we are hoping to raise enough money so that if he is forced to return to Namibia he has a financial safety net during what will undoubtedly be a very difficult transition to a place he has little memory of and few connections in. Any remaining money will be given to his family to support them during this immensely difficult time.