A Venezuelan man detained before he could provide a life-saving kidney transplant to his brother is set to be temporarily released, the nonprofit helping him said on Thursday.
Concretely, The Resurrection Project detailed that Jose Gregorio Gonzalez could be released from the Clay County Detention Center in Indiana as soon as Friday.
"This marks a victory for humanity and compassion," said Erendira Rendom, The Resurrection Project's chief program officer. "We are grateful to everyone who stood with the Gonzalez family," she added.
Prior to the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration, Jose Alfredo Pacheco, along with his family and doctors, had made arrangements to get the kidney he needed to save his life. However, Gonzalez was arrested before he could deliver it to him.
Gonzalez had been serving as his brother's main caretaker until being detained a month ago. Pacheco, 37, has to undergo dialysis sessions three times a week at 4:00 am for four hours. On March 3, when he was coming back home from one of them, his brother received him home with breakfast. After their meal, Gonzalez went outside the house, where he was met by ICE agents who detained him.
Gonzalez applied for asylum in the U.S. But after failing an initial interview with an immigration judge, authorities issued a removal order against him. He was nevertheless allowed to remain in the country under the supervision of ICE.
The case gained public notoriety after a vigil organized by The Resurrection Project on Monday. "My brother is a good man, not a criminal in Venezuela or here," said Pacheco during the vigil. "He came only with the hope of donating his kidney to me."
Gonzalez will now be released on humanitarian parole, meaning he will get a temporary reprieve for deportation and will be able to stay in the country and care for his brother through the kidney donation. Without his brother's kidney, Pacheco would likely have to wait years for a transplant, which would increase his chances of mortality.
Originally published on Latin Times
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