In May, ICE pulled over Jesus and his U.S. citizen wife Amber while they were driving home from court. Jesus is originally from Mexico and has lived in the United States for over 15 years. He and Amber reside in Chester County with their children. Jesus had not had an opportunity to obtain his permanent residency in the U.S. through Amber because of the strain that the application and attorneys’ fees would put on their household budget.
ICE detained Jesus and transferred him to Moshannon Valley Processing Center, nearly four hours from Jesus and Amber’s home. Even though Jesus was entitled to bail, the Immigration Court and ICE kept Jesus detained for months on end. During this time, Jesus’s family struggled financially, culminating in Amber being served with eviction papers.
In late September Amber called PAIFUP. With PAIFUP representation, Jesus was able to show the Immigration Judge that he was eligible for his green card and a bond hearing. At the hearing the judge heard testimony from both Amber and Jesus before determining that Jesus was neither a danger to the community nor a risk to not appear at future hearings. PAIFUP was able to work with New Sanctuary Movement to obtain bail funds from Casa San Jose. Jesus is now reunited with Amber and the kids, and PAIFUP will continue to assist the family in obtaining Jesus’s permanent residency.
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