Earlier in December Allan Dabrio Marrero, a gay immigrant from the Cayman Islands seeking asylum, was detained by ICE agents immediately following a marriage-based green card interview.
Allan, a member of the East Village’s Middle Collegiate Church, married his husband, Matthew Marrero, in 2023. At their USCIS interview, an officer approved their marriage petition but claimed Allan had missed a deportation hearing in December 2022 and was ordered removed—information the couple had never heard. Matthew stated that during the month of the alleged missed hearing, Allan was in a long-term rehabilitation center for alcoholism.
Despite the officer telling them they could leave safely to seek counsel, Allan was detained by ICE the moment they exited the building.
Matthew, along with church leaders and advocates, held a press conference to protest the detainment, which his lawyer called a failure of the immigration system’s duty to uphold humanity and dignity. Make the Road New York filed a motion to reopen the old deportation case, which temporarily stayed his deportation.
Matthew reported that Allan, who suffers from anxiety and depression, wasn’t receiving his medication properly and faced homophobic slurs in detention. Advocates highlight that this incident reflects a larger trend of policies designed to prevent LGBTQ+ immigrants from accessing fair adjudication.
