After a disquieting stint of more than two months in the clutches of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Allan Dabrio Marrero, a Brooklyn resident with origins traced back to the Cayman Islands, can at last prepare to tread the familiar floors of his home; a lawful reunion with his husband lies within reach. A Manhattan green card interview on November 24, one that would thrust Dabrio Marrero unexpectedly into ICE's unforgiving padlocked embrace, had climaxed with an order of removal based on a missed court date, an oversight due to a lapse in correspondence, as reported by ABC7NY.
Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Lewis, of Middle Church where Dabrio Marrero's husband chimes in with the choir, captured the elation of her congregation, banded together in advocacy over Zoom, praying, cajoling the fates to swing in favor of justness, when they received word of Dabrio Marrero's impending release on bond, "As soon as the good news came, Matthew FaceTimed us," she told ABC7NY. The saga was an odyssey, a journey punctuated by transfers from Delaney Hall in New Jersey to Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, and finally, a detention center in Mississippi quaintly dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz."
The transfer trail is no mere line on a map but a snaking path of trials for Dabrio Marrero and his husband Matthew, who describes the trek with a dry sense of underlying anguish, "Delaney Hall to Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix to Texas, Texas to Louisiana, Louisiana to Alligator Alcatraz," Matthew Marrero said in an interview with ABC7NY. The untangling of this legal snare, an unjustified removal order, was unwound in part by the evident oversight of a critical piece of mail.
As if driven by the spirit of their advocacy and their collective hope, the members of Middle Church found their prayers answered as Allan Dabrio Marrero was deemed fit to be released upon a $6,000 bond when, Alexandra Rizio, supervising immigration attorney for Make the Road New York, presented the case, laying bare the truths of a life unpunctuated by criminality, a life where only civic duty called, and to which Dabrio Marrero had been steadfast—save for that one missed hearing "I started by explaining that Allan had never been arrested, he has no criminal history whatsoever, and furthermore, he does have a history of attending immigration court dates interviews, hearings," Rizio said in a statement obtained by CBS News New York. The judge, acknowledging the robust community support, leaned into this factor heavily in the decision to grant bond.
Upon his's release, Dabrio Marrero plans to rekindle his quest for a green card, a testament to his resolve despite the shadows cast upon him by his detention; aspirations of nursing studies and continued fellowship with his church community lie ahead, reinforced by the shared relief and gratitude of his husband and congregation. In testament to their unity and support, congregant Sandra Santana voiced the sentiment of many, "We love each other. We stand together. We help each other," while Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, the Senior Minister, added, "I believe prayer works and I believe activism works, and I think we did all of that," as reported by CBS News New York. Middle Church plans to organize a celebratory gathering when the couple makes their way back to New York.
