Man Detained by ICE at Green Card Hearing Freed After 6 Months of Nightmarish Transfers

Allan Michael Marrero’s nightmare began in November 2025 at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, where he showed up for a routine green card hearing. Instead of advancing his immigration status, he was blindsided by ICE with a removal order issued three years earlier—an order he never knew about because it was sent to an old address. The Department of Homeland Security claimed Marrero had overstayed a tourist visa nearly a decade ago. But Marrero, a Cayman Islands native, had already started an asylum process before that visa expired.

What followed was six months of hell. ICE transferred Marrero repeatedly—New York to New Jersey, Arizona, Texas, Florida, and even Natchez, Mississippi—subjecting him to inhumane treatment including being chained by his ankles, waist, and wrists for up to eight hours at a time. “I was terrified every night,” Marrero said, describing the physical and psychological toll of the endless moves and harsh conditions.

Throughout this ordeal, Marrero’s community rallied. Local religious leaders, activists, and elected officials like Congressman Dan Goldman joined forces to demand his release. “We’ve been pleased to get more than 30 people released, along with Allan,” Goldman said. Marrero’s lawyer, Alex Rizio of Make the Road New York, emphasized that Marrero has “absolutely no criminal history.”

Finally freed after 150 days, Marrero returned to a joyous celebration at Middle Church in the Lower East Side. He thanked his husband Matthew for unwavering support and vowed to keep fighting for others trapped in ICE custody. “Love brought him home, but justice still has work to do,” Matthew Marrero said.

This case highlights the brutal reality of ICE’s detention system: arbitrary arrests, lack of notice, cruel conditions, and a for-profit detention network that prioritizes punishment over due process. Marrero’s story is a stark reminder that behind every deportation order is a human life subjected to a system rife with cruelty and indifference. The fight for accountability and humane treatment in immigration enforcement is far from over.