LOWER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) — A man from Brooklyn, who has been in ICE custody for two months after being detained during a green card hearing in Manhattan, is set to be released.
There was a moment of elation on Tuesday at the Lower East Side’s Middle Church as congregants gathered to watch on Zoom to see if one of their members detained by ICE would be released on bond.
“As soon as the good news came, Matthew FaceTimed us,” said Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Lewis of Middle Church.
The good news is that Allen Dabrio Marrero is coming home to his husband Matthew as soon as Wednesday after spending 64 days in multiple detention facilities.
“Delaney Hall to Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix to Texas. Texas to Louisiana. Louisiana to Alligator Alcatraz,” Matthew Marrero said.
Then finally to Natchez Mississippi, where a relieved Matthew Marrero spoke with Eyewitness News on Tuesday night.
Back in November, the couple went for a green card hearing at 26 Federal Plaza.
Allen Dabrio Marrero was detained after being told a removal order had been issued for him in 2022. He never knew about it, because he had missed a piece of mail about a hearing when he was between addresses.
The Department of Homeland Security told Eyewitness News that removal order was issued because his initial tourist visa from 2013 had expired, but before that expiration, Allen Dabrio Marrero, who’s from the Cayman Islands, had begun a well-documented asylum process.
“Going to hearings, check ins, had his work authorizations approved every two years, paid a fee every two years to have the work authorization renewed,” Matthew Marrero said. “He has been legal since that. And that was one of the great things that we were able to prove today in the bond hearing.”
“I think we’ve seen that it doesn’t take very much for this administration to detain someone, to mistreat the detainees, to, trump up, no pun intended, a reason to pull someone apart,” Rev. Dr. Lewis said.
At Middle Church, where Matthew Marrero sings in the choir, they’ve been advocating and praying for an end to the couple’s harrowing ordeal that all could have been avoided with better communication.
“There’s the EOIR which is the Executive Office of Immigration Review. And then there’s the USCIS,” Matthew Marrero said. “Those two agencies are basically in charge of your immigration. And they do not communicate with each other.”
On Tuesday night, with the removal order rescinded, and a $6,000 bond posted, Allen Dabrio Marrero’s immigration status is in good standing to continue pursuing a green card.
“I believe in protest. I believe in prayer, and I believe in love and those three things prevailed for this moment,” Rev. Dr. Lewis said.
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