Hi, Everyone. Two months ago, I met a young man who is currently in the process of applying for permanent US residency. His application has been pending for almost three years. During this timeframe, he and his family have had periodic check-in appointments with US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).

It was recently brought to my attention that a large majority of the individuals with pending residency applications are now being detained by ICE when they appear for their scheduled check-in appointments. They are then transferred to Immigration Detention Centers for an unspecified period of time while they await an expedited court hearing to determine whether their immigration application will be approved or denied.

In my personal opinion, these Immigration Detention Centers seem like modern-day concentration camps. In many cases, the detainees are law abiding immigrants that are being rounded up for no justifiable reason other than their immigration application is currently pending consideration by the court system.

When I heard this news, I immediately jumped into action and contacted three friends who are attorneys specializing in Immigration Law. Two of the attorneys indicated that there was an extremely high likelihood that he would be detained and placed in an Immigration Detention Center. I simply can't sit back and watch this happen to anyone I know personally without doing something about it.

For this reason, I have started this GoFundMe page to help raise funds to cover the cost of attorney fees to assist my friend and his family members. The cost for representation is $10,000/individual. We can retain the attorney to represent him with an initial deposit of $2,000, followed by installment payments of $250/month. It would cost each family member an additional initial deposit of $2,000, followed by installment payments of $250/month. For three individuals, the total cost for legal representation is $30,000.

Needless to say, the cost of attorney fees adds up quickly. It is imperative that we raise the first $2,000 by Monday, December 8 because my friend has an ICE appointment scheduled this coming week. He plans to appear for this appointment, despite the fact that there is a strong possibility that he will be placed into a Detention Center for no justifiable reason.

My friend entered the US legally, obtained a Work Authorization, a Driver's License, and he has been working to help his mother pay for housing, food, utilities, transportation, etc. He is trying to do the right thing by attending the ICE appointment, and I am trying to do the right thing by helping him obtain legal assistance to represent him going forward.

Whether your donation is $25, $50, $100, $1000 or more, every little bit will help him and his family remain in the US legally until their residency applications are given due process. Thank you in advance for your time & consideration.

Best Wishes,

~ Brian