It was a moment of celebration, elation and more than anything, reunification. 

After more than 150 days in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, Allan Dabrio Marrero is back in New York City. 

What You Need To Know

  • After more than 150 days in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, Allan Dabrio Marrero is back in New York City

  • Allan was released on April 23 from custody after posting a $6,000 bond through the help of Envision Freedom Fund, a nonprofit group that pays immigration bonds

  • But his lawyer, Alexandra Rizio, says his release should’ve happened in late January when an immigration judge first granted him bond

He is back with his friends, his church community and more importantly, his husband.

“We feel violated and deeply traumatized, and yet we also discovered a strength and resilience in ourselves we never knew we had,” Matthew Marrero, his husband, said.

Allan has been on a long journey in ICE detention that began in November following a routine green card interview. 

“Being detained while I attended my scheduled USCIS greencard interview, change of status interview, is not what I envisioned. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this traumatic experience,” he said. 

The interview was the next step in Allan’s process toward becoming a permanent resident after immigrating from the Cayman Islands and then marrying his husband, Matthew, in 2023.

Allan was initially held at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan but was later transported to a handful of facilities across the country, including what’s known as “Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida before landing in Adams County Correctional Facility in Natchez, Mississippi. 

Allan described his experience. 

“With bathrooms and showers in the open, no pillows, slop for food and the psychological games both the ICE and officers played,” he said. “The transfers that occurred every night took a physical toll. This is where they would chain your ankles connected to your waist, connected to your wrists for up to eight hours at a time and could last up to three days, not knowing where you were going.” 

Allan was released on April 23 from custody after posting a $6,000 bond through the help of Envision Freedom Fund, a nonprofit group that pays immigration bonds. 

But his lawyer, Alexandra Rizio, says his release should’ve happened in late January when an immigration judge first granted him bond. 

“ICE is using what is called the auto stay rule that they have made up themselves to refuse to accept the bond payment, but the actual law, of course, says that they need to,” she said.

NY1 has reached out to ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for comment on the allegations and on why they rejected Allan’s bond for months. NY1 has not heard back. 

The department previously told NY1 that Marrero was an “illegal alien” that had not only overstayed his tourist visa but also missed a hearing that triggered a final order of removal. 

Despite their saga, the couple is still hopeful about their future. 

“No one should be able to stop me from…me and my husband living happily,” Allan said.

“Especially when you’re donig the right thing, following the process and the rules and that’s what he’s done,” Matthew said.