Get Tomás out of ICE detention!

Tomás is a 57-year-old man from Guatemala who has been held in ICE custody for nearly five months.  Wrenched by ICE from his quiet  life in Hempstead, Long Island where he has lived since 1982,  he now grapples to make sense of his environment full of barbed wire, jumpsuits, and shackles, where airplanes from nearby Newark Airport remind him of the possibility of his deportation.

An attorney I respect and admire is representing Tomas  in his removal proceedings while he is languishing in a jail-like ICE detention facility in Kearny, New Jersey.  While my colleague was able to argue for the lowest bond permissible under law, that amount is still $1500.  

Tomas is a quiet, gentle man who suffers from cognitive problems, and is a survivor of a major stroke that put him in a coma for a month. Tomás grew up in poverty in a remote part of Guatemala during the civil war, and never had the opportunity to attend school or learn to read. Over the past few decades in the United States, Tomás has worked in construction in Long Island. Due to his mental health and cognitive limitations, he has also spent time homeless. In February, he was arrested and detained by ICE despite having no criminal convictions—just one minor violation in over 35 years of living in the United States.

Several weeks ago, a colleague attorney was able to win him bond of $1500 due to his lack of criminal history, his gentle nature, and his fear of returning to Guatemala. Unfortunately, he has had difficulty finding loved ones to assist paying the bond because his family in Guatemala has been affected by the catastrophic volcanic eruptions.

It seems unlikely that Tomas will be able to meaningfully fight deportation from within detention due to his cognitive issues and difficulties communicating with his lawyer within the institutional setting.  Because Tomás’s immediate social networks are unable to help him get out of detention, I'm turning on his behalf to wider community support. With the minimum bond of $1500, Tomás is very close to getting out. There are social workers eager to connect him to the care he needs from community organizations in Hempstead and his legal team will continue working with him to gather evidence and build a case to fight to protect him from deportation.

My name is Clement Lee, and I'm an immigration attorney.  I'm raising funds on behalf of Tomas, an immigration detainee at the Hudson County Correctional Facility.  The funds will be spent to cover the $1500 immigration bond, payable to the Department of Homeland Security, to get Tomas out of immigration detention.

How the process works: once the funds are deposited from the campaign into his account, Clement Lee will write a check or money order for $1500 out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Melissa Almonte, an ally of Tomas, has volunteered to be the obligor. This means that she will physically take the $1500 check/money order and post it to the ICE field office. Upon receipt of the check, ICE will then release Tomas from the facility. Scott Coomes (Tomas's attorney) is making arrangements for Tomas to receive transport back to his community on the day of his release, as well as social support services to make sure he receives the help he needs.