<div>As many of you know, <strong>my godson Vivaldy came to live in the United States 2.5 years ago</strong>. He came as many refugees seeking asylum do… through the southern border. He had fled Haiti 5 years earlier under death threats originating from his involvement with the campaign of a cousin who was assassinated. After spending some time in Chile, it became increasingly apparent that he was not safe there as well and began the hike to the United States. If you have not heard the stories of hunger, thirst, and death from individuals who have made that journey, I suggest you research it. When he arrived at the US border, he put in his application through an app created by the US so he could enter and seek asylum. He was granted that appointment and thus began his asylum process in the US.
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<div>Last year, his asylum case was postponed because Vivaldy had applied for Temporary Protected Status available to Haitian nationals. A couple of months ago, his case was reopened in immigration court with a date set for November 2026. During all this time, Vivaldy has worked to establish himself and to continue to support his mother and daughter in Haiti. He has legal authorization to work in the United States. He has worked overnights at Amazon, then driven for Lyft and Uber during the day. Most recently, he has been working for FedEx and a delivery company.
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<div>Last Tuesday, he was working with the delivery company and they made a delivery to a military base. When they checked his identification and saw he was not completely through his immigration process, they detained him and called ICE to pick him up. He had done nothing wrong other than not understanding that his work authorization would not protect him from being detained at a federal facility. Since Tuesday, he has been detained at a facility in Virginia. My heart is shattered. Vivaldy is an amazing young man who is generous, kind, responsible, and one of the hardest working people I have met. I love him deeply, even more than when he was born while I lived in Haiti. Being his godmother is one of the honors of my life. Now he is being held in detention, sharing a cell with 5 other men in a unit that holds about 80 men. His life is that of the incarcerated: roll calls, sandwiches for lunch and dinner, no freedom to go outside, submitted requests for any need. As we understand it, he now will not be released until his immigration case has been determined. Other men he has met have been there months to a year as their cases move through the legal process.
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<div>With this new state of affairs, there are legal costs on top of what we paid a few years ago. There are also costs with being incarcerated. Every phone call is .25 a minute. Every email is .35. Any comforts available also cost money. (Someone is making MONEY on the backs of incarcerated people).
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<div><strong>Legal Fees and Consultation: $1,700.00</strong>
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<div>Support during detention: $300.00
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<div><strong>I need help to support him and make sure he has the legal representation he needs.</strong> There are some new risks at this time (like being sent to Honduras while he waits for trial) that we have to address this month.
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<div>Initially, I need $500.00 for the first installment of legal fees.
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<div>I would love your support if you feel you could enter this journey with me.
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<div>Many thanks,
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<div>Kathleen
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Michael Schechter

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