[July 13, 2023] Garfield Green to be released from ICE Custody

New York, NY – Garfield Green, formerly held at Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami Florida, is slated to be released from detention today. He was held at the facility for more than two years after being incarcerated for four years. Although he was a permanent resident, his status was revoked and he was threatened with deportation. During this seven year gap, he missed out on the birth of his son and his children were separated from their father.

Today, his family and advocates at Families for Freedom are celebrating Green’s return to New York City. He will be able to get the health treatment that he was deprived of while detained. Because Garfield Green is an amputee, he requires the use of mobility equipment. At Krome, he was reliant on a wheelchair because he was never provided a properly fitting prosthetic leg. He suffered several injuries in detention and had difficulty obtaining proper medical care. Additionally, Garfield Green is diabetic and has expressed that medical personnel at Krome administered the wrong type of insulin. When Green participated in a hunger strike, he was punished by being placed in solitary confinement. A report by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Americans for Immigrant Justice, found that Krome Detention Center fails to accommodate people with limited mobility.

Garfield’s release from detention marks an end to the mistreatment he suffered at the hands of ICE and a brighter future for the Green family. In the fight against his deportation, he had the support of Families for Freedom and concerned community members across the country. His family and community awaits his return to New York City, and vows to support his future endeavors.

“Today is a big win for one of our members Garfield Green. After nearly a year of advocacy we were finally able to reunite yet another family. At FFF we believe immigrant rights are human rights. We will continue to fight against injustices.” – Janay Cauthen, Executive Director of Families for Freedom

For more information about Garfield’s case, visit: https://tinyurl.com/Garfieldtoolkit

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Families for Freedom is a New York City-based organization founded during the early 2000s that advocates for detainees across the country. Within the past two decades, FFF has been able to build numerous alliances with organizations across the United States in order to expand the amount of support it can offer to immigrants, educate marginalized communities, and fight against repressive immigration laws. FFF communicates directly with detainees and people facing deportation in many ways, including assisting them with filing appeals, finding legal support, campaigning against their removals, and making their cases more visible to the public. At Families for Freedom, we understand that deportation has terrible effects on the individual; we aim to reform the process of detention, ensure that immigrants’ rights are protected, and advocate for those that are underprivileged due to their citizenship status through interactive outreach and field work activities. As Families for Freedom personally believes, no one should go through the pain of being separated from their loved ones and communities.

Contact:

Shamaya Green: shamayagreen@gmail.com

Christiana Adebiyi: christiana@familiesforfreedom.org

Janay Cauthen: janay@familiesforfreedom.org

Matthew Hopcock: matthew@hoppocklawfirm.com