UPDATE 8/15: We raised the bond attorney amount and the bond attorney has been hired. We are now raising funds for the bond and if not granted a bond, we are raising for quoted attorney fees ($4,500) for fighting a case from detention.
On Thursday morning, my boyfriend and I woke up and prepared to leave for an appointment of his. We made breakfast, loved on our cat and ate as we sipped our coffees. We left out the door and once we arrived to the ISAP office, we said our goodbyes. Not knowing that might be the last embrace we have for weeks or months.
That Thursday morning, John (my boyfriend) was called back for his appointment to be met with immigration officials and handcuffs. He was detained and eventually transported to an ICE Detention Center in Louisiana.
Once he notified me of what happened, I headed home and arrived and opened our door to our two coffees sitting there on the coffee table. His slippers right where his feet had left him, but he was gone.
Just 3 days prior to his appointment, his lawyer had submitted his asylum case. That Tuesday he was called for the appointment with ISAP (an alternative to detention). In the blink of an eye our life changed.
Now we are left with finding a lawyer that will ask the immigration judge in Louisiana for a bond, which we just heard back from him today and it will be $2,500 just to hire him to ask the judge for a bond. Once he is offered the bond, we will then have to pay the bond.
On top of legal fees, I am left with all of our bills, which once was a 50% contribution from me, will now be 100%. On Saturday 8/9, I drove to Louisiana to visit him and make sure he knew that he wasn’t alone. The trip for me was 6 hours one way. On the way home, I faced transmission issues with my vehicle and was left stranded in the middle of Mississippi and did not get home until 6am that morning. I am now down a vehicle and am left with a tow truck bill.
We need help. We know that we will overcome this. We also know that we have no fighting chance with the courts without money. Please, if you can spare just $5, please send it our way. We need a miracle. Please help us.
