This is our friend, Gerson: At 17, Gerson Josue Santamaria Turcios left his family farm in Honduras and travelled alone to the US fleeing persecution. His journey led him to the small town of Rhinebeck, NY, where he attended public high school like any other teenager. He learned fluent English and eventually built his own landscaping business. Today, at 24, Gerson is a well-known, loved and law-abiding member of the Rhinebeck community. This is ICE: On July 18, 2025 Gerson was returning from work when he was stopped by ICE agents, who were looking for someone else. Though they didn’t have a warrant, Gerson was facially scanned with an unknown device and then detained, transferred in shackles to detention facilities across multiple states and scheduled for deportation - all without due process. This is what we’re doing: Since July of 2025, Gerson’s friends and neighbors in Rhinebeck have launched a fight to raise awareness of his case and his right to due process. Members of Congress and NY state legislators are speaking up in support and his lawyers have won a stay on his deportation as his asylum case is considered. Your donations will go to legal fees as Gerson continues to navigate this complex and frightening new reality.
FRESH UPDATE HERE >>>>>>>>>>> May 9, 2026
Dear BELOVED DONORS, FRIENDS OF GERSON, and NEW FRIENDS.......
The ongoing and difficult legal struggle to get Gerson released from ICE custody continues. Last fall he was transferred to MDC in Brooklyn, NY - a place where he has not been able to be visited by Rhinebeck friends and is in a maximum security facility -- the same one that held Diddy and that currently holds Nicolás Maduro and Luigi Mangione.
To further update you ..... we litigated an entire habeas petition in the Southern District of NY, but all while being concurrently dealt quite a few bad cards in the form of bad and partisan judges, complicated attorneys, government-leaning decisions even when they made no sense, and just general fighting the system blues. Finally, last week, after requesting dismissal without prejudice so that we could litigate in the jurisdiction where Gerson has actually now been held for almost 6 months, we were further dealt a gutting blow in the form of petition denial by said judge in the SDNY. We are now both appealing to the Second Circuit and have launched the habeas case in the Eastern District of NY where Gerson is being held.
We had said that we would reach out ONLY if and when we needed to raise more money, and the time is now. Gerson remains in incredible spirits and has the strength of many. I remind you that he is only 24.
There have been times when I have doubted to keep this fight going, but Gerson's spirit and resilience allows me to recognize that the good fight is important here. His immigration case merited an appeal and a Meritorious stay of deportation grant so that he would not be returned to potential gang violence in Honduras without due process. A stay granted by the Department of Justice
Gerson continues to have agency over his own decisions, and his case now is positioned to create precedent for future cases where not only we may be helpful to him, but be helpful to others that come after him.
So with deep humility and eternal gratitude, I’m reaching out for that extra financial help we need to keep this fight going. Every dollar goes to Gerson's legal representation.
Any funds that you can offer would be appreciated — from a few dollars to as many as you can spare if you have deeper pockets and cash to burn. We will take it!!
I wish that I had a timeline, but we have asked for Gerson's IMMEDIATE release while we also await the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Please help us make this difference not only to Gerson to get him back to his community but to also potentially set new effective precedent where others will not be able to be emotionally, psychologically, and in many cases physically abused in the same way by partisan punitive judges that that dehumanize the people whose lives they hold in their hands.
AND ALSO !!!!! Please please please help me to get this to go viral again -- I value our wonderful donors and would love to attract some newbies too!!!! We cannot let Gerson get lost in teh system as we near day 300 of his incarceration.
Thank you so much. With DEEP Love, Jenny
