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To: ICE Officers

Stop the Deportation of Rickley Lionel

This campaign has ended.

To release Rickley from detention so he can pursue his request for Prosecutorial Detention while being at home and with the support of his family.

Why is this important?

Rickley is a 24 year old, hardworking young man who has been living in the United States since he was 11 years old. Rickley and his brother Voidette came to the United States to join his mother. Rickley attended high school and has been working in construction since. Voidette, Rickley’s brother, has a disability that limits his opportunity to independently go out and he requires extensive care. Rickley has always been a father figure to Voidette and has been helping his mother with taking care of Voidette. Rickley has two daughters, Emily and Allysi, of 7 and 4 years old who both have American citizenship. Rickley worked in construction in order to help support his family.

Rickley has been held in detention since November 2012, and he has only seen Alyssi on one occasion. In June 2013, Rickley was transferred to Alabama and his family has not been able to visit him.

Rickley’s father has never been involved in his childhood and Rickley grew up in an environment where domestic violence was not uncommon. Rickley was arrested because he had drugs on him, but the plea agreement which he took also included the sale of drugs. This is not true. However, as a result of his arrest, ICE began a deportation case against Rickley, even though that would mean that Rickley would be separated from his family. Rickley has taken ownership for his past mistakes and is determined to overcome his past struggles by focusing on the future. Rickley has been baptized last August, regularly attends bible classes, and encourages other detainees to get involved as well.

The Obama administration has directed local ICE officers to exercise discretion. However, ICE has failed to exercise discretion for Rickley and they are continuing to advocate for his deportation. Additionally, last summer the Obama administration announced a program to defer the deportation of persons who arrived in the United States as children. Rickley and his family desperately want him to remain in the United States, the only country that he considers home. Please sign this petition asking ICE to follow their own directives and not deport Rickley.

New York City, New York

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Updates

2014-01-25 01:15:21 -0500

100 signatures reached

2014-01-23 02:37:15 -0500

50 signatures reached

2014-01-16 23:29:28 -0500

25 signatures reached

2014-01-15 00:12:20 -0500

10 signatures reached