After five months in ICE detention, Allan Marrero is free — and reunited with husband

After five months spent in ICE detention, New York’s Allan Marrero has been released and is back with his husband, per the Washington Blade.

Marrero, a native of the Cayman Islands, was first detained in November, per Spectrum News NY1 during a routine green-card interview in New York City. Marrero was taking steps to obtain permanent residency, but the Department of Homeland Security had dubbed him an “illegal alien,” alleging that he had overstayed his visa and missed a hearing related to his immigration status.

Marrero had apparently missed a court date while he was in a rehabilitation program for alcohol addiction, per the Blade.

On Sunday, both Marrero and his husband Matthew Marrero made a public appearance at Middle Church in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood, where they thanked everyone for their support, per the Cayman Compass.

“This community means a lot to me. Your strength and your hopes and your prayers kept me going while I was inside for 150 days,” he said to the congregation. “It was a very traumatic experience. I am still trying to re-adjust, but I am happy and thankful and blessed for this community that we have here, and I thank you all.”

Later, in a post on Facebook, Marrero added: “5 months away from my husband and my dogs. Away from my community and from the comfort of my home. 5 months and I’m finally home. It is a lot to come out of detention and return to life as usual. I hope you allow me the grace to find my footing as I return to the world and try to make sense of everything that has happened to me these last few months.”

He continued, “Please know that while I’m fortunate to have all of you, some of my brothers and sisters who are detained aren’t as lucky. Please don’t forget about them and please continue to use your voices to uplift those in situations like mine.”

On Monday, Marrero’s sister-in-law Andrea — who had organized a GoFundMe to cover expenses related to Marrero’s detention, including legal fees, commissary funds and costs to drive to see him — updated the fundraiser’s page to say that Marrero had been “bonded out” of detention and thanked the efforts of their lawyer at Make the Road NY, an organization that serves immigrant communities.

Marrero and his husband, Matthew Marrero, had been married for two years at the time that Allan Marrero was seized. When they showed up at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City, the proceedings almost immediately “turned hostile,” per the Blade.

The Rev. Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft, a minister at Middle Church who attended the hearing with the couple, told the Blade that the meeting was “dehumanizing” and “barbaric.”

From Federal Plaza in New York City, Marrero was taken to Delaney Hall in New Jersey, followed by several other facilities nationwide, including the controversial Florida detention center that has been dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Marrero eventually ended up in a facility in Mississippi.

While in custody, Marrero was not given his prescription medication, and ICE agents pressured him to self-deport, advocates for Marrero told the Blade.

A judge granted Marrero release in January, per NY1, but DHS placed a stay on the decision, extending Marrero's detention. Per the Blade, a different judge then issued another ruling denying Marrero’s release.

“[It feels like] somebody came in and kidnapped someone close to you and took away all of your control and power,” Matthew Marrero told the Blade in March. “You shouldn’t be able to have this much control over somebody’s life, especially if they are trying to do the right thing … You’re not going after criminals, you’re not going after the worst of the worst. You’re trying to fill a quota.”

This story was originally published on Them.