Help DACA Recipient Come Home

On February 12, 2018 at 5:00 am, ICE raided my friend Mario’s apartment complex and took him and several other undocumented people into custody.  He has been at the Adelanto Detention Facility since that day, it’s now April 19.

Let me tell you a little bit about this genuine soul.

 Mario Perez Gonzales came to this country when he was just a child, 5 years old. He and his sister Erika, were brought here by their parents from Mexico City in 1992. His parents, like so many others, came here to try to give their children an opportunity for a better life.  Mario grew up in Ontario, CA and attended Ontario High School and he was awarded DACA status by the Federal Government.

  Mario is a genuine person with a heart of gold. He is a friend to all, even strangers, he used to tirelessly volunteer at the local Salvation Army to feed the homeless.  He most recently had been working with his sister Erika taking care of patients with Schizophrenia.

 Through the years I have known Mario to be kind, thoughtful, smart and someone who embodied the utmost impeccable character, but due to an unfortunate turn of events, his DACA status was revoked. Mario suffers from depression and anxiety, because of this he turned to alcohol.  Mario has completed rehabilitation twice and he has been working on the betterment of himself through doctor visits, with doctor prescribed medication and he regularly attended his AA Meetings.

 Life has stood still for my fried Mario since that fateful day that ICE detained him.

The prosecution is arguing that he is a threat to his community and a threat to flee. We know that this is NOT true. If anything, he is constantly trying to help others in his community and continues to strive to be a better version of himself. Mario has a lawyer working on his behalf, but the bond to get him out of the facility is going to be devastating on his family.

 Please help me to help my friend Mario and his family. He does NOT deserve to be held in a jail for any time period, let alone as long as he has already been there. They are trying to deport him back to Mexico, a place that he barely knows.

 I need your help. Mario needs your help. If you don’t have much to give, please give what you can. Any amount is desperately needed and appreciated.  I will be withdrawaling the funds donated and give them directly to his sister Erika Perez, so she can best assist in the effort to get Mario home.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and PLEASE SHARE with anyone you know that you think can help. THANK YOU!