We are requesting you exercise prosecutorial discretion to not enforce the removal order against Mr. Gastelum consistent with the new enforcement memo by Secretary Johnson. Mr. Gastelum and his wife have a U.S. born son, Dilan (5) who suffers from severe eczema, developmental disabilities, anxiety and failure to thrive. Mr. Gastelum can provide medical insurance through his job and the insurance is necessary to treat and manage Dilan's severe eczema to avoid undue suffering and hospitalization. We believe this case meets the requirements for prosecutorial discretion and ask that you take immediate action to keep this family together and allow Dilan to continue receiving his much needed treatment.

Juan de Jesus (A095-528-377) came to the United States from the Dominican Republic when he was two. Now, 27, Juan is a New Yorker with deep roots in New York and New Jersey. He graduated from Norman Thomas High School in August 2007, and worked at a bodega before his detention. His entire family is here, including his green-card holder mother Augustina, his four U.S. citizen siblings, and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. His U.S. citizen fiancé Alya Aboulhosn, whom Juan has dated since February 2013, attends all his court appearances and visits him in detention weekly. Juan is also a dedicated uncle to his two U.S. citizen nieces and U.S. citizen nephew. Juan has had a hard time getting good legal help. When he tried to regularize his status, an immigration “worker” Vincent Gonzales never followed up with his case. In July 2010, the NY Attorney General obtained a judgment of over $6.25 million against Mr. Gonzalez for engaging in the unauthorized practice of the law and defrauding thousands of immigrants. In August 2014, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Juan after he was convicted for drug possession. The criminal defense attorney who represented him was recently indicted for attempting to bribe Manhattan court staff. In September 2014, Juan’s attorneys appealed his conviction. Under immigration law, while the appeal is pending, the conviction (a felony for DACA purposes) is not “final,” and, as such, does not disqualify him from DACA. But ICE refuses to release him until the court decides the appeal, which could take up to two years. The DACA guidelines provide that while in ICE detention, Juan cannot apply for DACA though he fully qualifies. Juan also has three possession of marijuana New York violations: two carry maximum penalties of only a fine and do not count as misdemeanors for DACA; and one counts as a non-significant misdemeanor for DACA. These NY violations do not disqualify him from DACA. Juan started using drugs in high school. Becoming homeless after his mother (at the urging of her then-boyfriend) kicked him out of her apartment exacerbated his drug use. If Juan is released, he is determined to stay clean, and has already been accepted into a drug treatment program in New Jersey where he will live with his fiancé. Juan is also seeking asylum. His hearing was scheduled for June 2015, but because the judge assigned to his case retired, the court rescheduled for December 2015. Juan will have been detained for over a year and four months before his hearing. He has already been in detention for ten months. His attorneys filed a habeas petition in federal court on June 16, 2015, so that Juan may be released while he fights his case. That petition is pending. Please sign and ask ERO Field Office Director John Tsoukaris to release Juan from detention so that he can fight his case from home with his family.

Erik Cortez-Sandeniz (A# 096-116-570) came to the United States from Mexico when he was nine years old. This is a letter from his oldest son, also named Erik. “My father grew up in Providence, Rhode Island and attended Central High School. He dropped out of high school to work and provide for his family at the age of seventeen. Since then, he has been the head of our household and has dedicated his life to taking care of his children and wife. He is now thirty-six years old and is in detention. My father grew up in a neighborhood filled with gangs. Like many other young people in his community, he became involved with the gang because that was what he knew. Despite his gang affiliation, he started working at the age of thirteen to provide for his family. One of his first jobs was helping in a local church. This country has been the only place my father has known. His whole family is here including his three U.S citizen sisters and U.S citizen mother and U.S permanent resident father, numerous of aunts and uncles and cousins, but most importantly he has his five U.S citizen children. I am his oldest son and I am nineteen years old. I just recently finished my first year at Brandeis University on a scholarship. His second oldest was recently accepted to Mass Maritime on a scholarship. Before being detained, my father saw his second son graduate high school but if he is deported he won’t see the rest of his children complete this important milestone. Two of his other children are in high school and his youngest just finished the 5th grade. He has been with my mother, his wife, for 20 years. If he does go back to Mexico, there's a possibility that he will be killed by rival gangs. He made mistakes, but I truly believe he has learned from them and moved on. He instilled in us the value of education that he learned from his experiences. My father grew up in circumstances that did not allow him to get an education, but he made sure that did not happen to us. He has two felony charges: one occurred when he was very young for leaving the scene of a car accident and the second for selling a gun to someone he thought was a friend and explained he needed a gun because his family was being threatened and was in danger. My father has provided and raised a wonderful family.” Please sign and ask ERO Assistant Field Office Director Todd Thurlow and DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Esther Olavarria to release Erik from detention so that he can fight his case from home with his family.

Flagrant Human Rights Violations affect us all. If ignored in one place, it pops up in another place.

Last year, Governor LePage singled out asylum seekers when he unilaterally denied General Assistance (GA) from legal, non-citizens. Why? Well, he called them “able-bodied.” And, he’s right. Legal, non-citizens and asylum seekers are as eager as anyone else to work and start their lives as New Mainers. But because asylum seekers are prohibited by federal law from working for the first six months they’re in the United States, they need help from programs like GA to help meet their basic needs like food, rent, and clothing. GA is a voucher program--meaning no cash is distributed. It’s a program run by municipalities but funded mostly with state dollars. Recently, a Maine court ruled that the state was legally allowed to withhold state funding. Where does that leave Maine’s newest residents? Right here in Portland, it means there are hundreds of people who will be without housing and food. Paul LePage has given up on our asylum seeking neighbors -- but we can't. We have a second chance. This Wednesday, Portland’s City Council will have an opportunity to fully fund GA for asylum seekers in the city budget.

We want to make clear our community's position on the current Driver's License legislation: we support the bill S.0391. This bill would provide members of our community with legal access to driver's licenses, and the ability to drive without fear of deportation. Cities and States like Chicago, Vermont, California, New Jersey and Connecticut, to name a few, have already taken the step towards greater equality by passing similar laws that provide licenses for all, regardless of immigration status. Rhode Island has a responsibility to its immigrant families to uphold our values of fairness and safety by passing these reforms. Click here to view the contents of the legislation in English: http://tinyurl.com/S0391-English and here in Spanish: http://tinyurl.com/S0391-Espanol

Hi, Good men that are hard workers and the sole providers for their families should be given opportunities to reunite with their families. Some of the deportees are just waiting at the borders for laws to change, and meanwhile the single moms are becoming homeless even though they work two jobs. Children are suffering from this and some are struggling with emotional anxiety and depression. I am one of the many wives that became homeless, had to quit school and became depressed and sick from seeing my family suffer so much, especially because two of our five kids, the younger ones, have disabilities. I miss him so much, but because of financial hardship I can't go see him. I wish someone would just hear our voices.

Good men that are hard workers and the sole providers for their families should be given opportunities to reunite with their families. Some of the deportees are just waiting at the borders for laws to change, and meanwhile the single moms are becoming homeless even though they work two jobs. Children are suffering from this and some are struggling with emotional anxiety and depression. I am one of the many wives that became homeless, had to quit school, and became depressed and sick from seeing my family suffer so much. Especially because two of our five kids, the younger ones, have disabilities. I miss my husband so much, but because of financial hardship, I can't go see him. I wish someone would just hear our voices.

Sulma did everything she was supposed to (and more!) when she arrived in Austin, Texas six years ago. She began the process of applying for asylum, learned English and applied for work authorization. Years later, she opened up her own food truck business with her partner and applied for all the necessary permits. They had just paid 2 months rent on a space to park the truck when Sulma went in for a routine ICE appointment, something she had been doing every 3 months for years. But this time, rather than signing her name and leaving, ICE told her that her lawyer had not filed some paperwork correctly. With her car still parked outside, and her partner and business waiting for her, she was taken into ICE custody and eventually transferred to Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. Thanks to the community, she was released back to her family in Austin, Texas--- but the nightmare is not over as ICE wants to remove her this Thursday!

Fredy Mencia was scheduled to be deported this Thursday June 25th, 2015. Through our collective efforts we have temporarily halted Fredy's deportation until September 15th. He is a father of three small U.S citizen children, has no criminal record, and is an active member of our community and a local church leader. Fredy is exactly the kind of person that should not be deported under president Obama’s new deportation guidelines. Please help us keep this family together.

Shixin Lu is a 43-year-old asylum seeker and a mother of a 13-year-old daughter, Yuening Li. She is in danger of being imminently deported back to China, where she is almost certain to be detained and tortured by Chinese authorities solely because of her peaceful religious beliefs. Shixin and her husband, Austin, are practitioners of Falun Gong, a peaceful spiritual practice outlawed in China since 1999. Tens of thousands of practitioners have since been detained and tortured. Shixin and Austin were both victims of this abuse in the early 2000’s, but following their detentions, they concealed their religious beliefs and built successful careers in China. In January 2014, Austin and their daughter traveled to the United States, joined by Shixin a few weeks later. Shixin was forced to return to China in February after receiving news that her father was ill. While in China, Shixin started to receive threats to her family’s well being. In a panic, Shixin returned to the United States, where she was detained in ICE custody before applying for asylum. Her asylum claim was wrongly denied, despite the substantial proof of warnings from Chinese authorities. Shixin has been detained in county jail like a criminal for more than one year in Calhoun County Jail although ICE has power to parole ( release her) as she is neither flight risk nor danger to public and has a legitimate asylum claim. ICE Field office should use proper discretion and free her now while asylum appeal is pending!

Shixin Lu is a 43-year-old asylum seeker and a mother of a 13-year-old daughter, Yuening Li. She is in danger of being imminently deported back to China, where she is almost certain to be detained and tortured by Chinese authorities solely because of her peaceful religious beliefs. Shixin and her husband, Austin, are practitioners of Falun Gong, a peaceful spiritual practice outlawed in China since 1999. Tens of thousands of practitioners have since been detained and tortured. Shixin and Austin were both victims of this abuse in the early 2000’s, but following their detentions, they concealed their religious beliefs and built successful careers in China. In January 2014, Austin and their daughter traveled to the United States, joined by Shixin a few weeks later. Shixin was forced to return to China in February after receiving news that her father was ill. While in China, Shixin started to receive threats to her family’s well-being. In a panic, Shixin returned to the United States, where she was detained in ICE custody before applying for asylum. Her asylum claim was wrongly denied, despite the substantial proof of warnings from Chinese authorities. Shixin has been detained in county jail like criminal for more than one year in Calhoun County Jail although ICE has the power to parole ( release her) as she is neither flight risk nor danger to public and has legitimate asylum claim. ICE Field office should use proper discretion and free her now while asylum appeal is pending!