In a distressing incident highlighting the perils of bureaucratic oversight in the US immigration system, a green card applicant was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after he missed a crucial piece of mail. Allan Dabrio Marrero, who is lawfully married to US citizen Matthew Marrero, was taken into custody last week at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan.
A Missed Notice Leads to Removal Proceedings
The core of the issue stems from a simple change of address. Allan Marrero, who had moved, failed to receive a notice from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) dated December 2022. This notice summoned him to an immigration hearing. Unaware of this communication, he did not appear. Consequently, USCIS marked him as having failed to show up, which automatically triggered removal proceedings against him.
The couple discovered this shocking development during what was supposed to be a routine marriage-based green card interview last week in Lower Manhattan. Instead of progressing with his application, they were informed that an order of removal had been issued for Allan. ICE agents present at the location immediately detained him. He was subsequently transferred to the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, where he currently remains.
Background and Community Response
Allan Marrero's journey to the United States began over a decade ago. He left his home in the Cayman Islands, where he was a citizen, seeking a safer environment as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and applied for asylum in the US. He met his future husband, Matthew, through social media two years ago. After marrying, they duly filed for a marriage-based green card, following the legal process to the letter.
His husband and their church community are now campaigning vigorously for his release, emphasising that Allan has no criminal record and was always meticulous with his immigration paperwork. "The way the narrative has been spun to the general public is that they're going after the worst of the worst. And that is not true," Matthew Marrero told ABC 7. He described his husband as a contributing member of society who was proud to want to become an American.
The family has started a GoFundMe campaign to cover mounting legal fees and the costs of visiting the New Jersey detention centre. To date, it has raised over $15,500. On the fundraising page, Andrea Marrero, Allan's sister-in-law, wrote emotionally, "He is a law-abiding, tax paying, work visa holding SHOULD BE citizen... Not to be blindsided when doing what they were told is the right thing to do."
Broader Pattern of Immigration Enforcement
This case is not isolated. Immigration advocates report a growing number of similar incidents where individuals lawfully pursuing green cards, often through marriage to US citizens, have been arrested. This trend aligns with the Trump administration's tightened enforcement policies targeting those who overstayed visas or had minor paperwork discrepancies.
While such arrests inside Federal Plaza have been uncommon, the building has recently seen multiple protests over immigrant detentions. The Department of Homeland Security maintains that its enforcement actions focus on the "worst of the worst" among alleged illegal immigrants, specifically those with criminal convictions. However, attorneys and activists argue that cases like Allan Marrero's directly contradict this claim.
"I just want so badly to get my husband home. I hope, I pray, that he'll be able to get out before the holidays," a heartbroken Matthew Marrero told Documented in New York. The case underscores the human cost of stringent immigration policies and the critical importance of perfect communication in a high-stakes legal process.
