Kidney donor detained by ICE before life-saving transplant can take place
BERWYN, Ill. (WGN) — Immigration rights activists, community members and elected officials are calling on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release a detainee who was preparing to make an organ donation to save his brother's life.
A vigil was held Monday evening for José Gregorio, a 43-year-old from Venezuela, who has been held in an immigration detention center for nearly a month.
Gregorio was preparing to donate a kidney to his brother, José Alfredo Pacheco, 37, who has end-stage renal disease. Pacheco said his brother is his lifeline to surviving, and the only family member he has here to help him.
“This is literally a matter of life and death,” Attorney Peter Meinecke with The Resurrection Project told Nexstar's WGN.
According to Meinecke, Pacheco came to the United States in 2022 and applied for asylum, which is still pending. In 2023, he was given the news that his kidney had stopped functioning. He currently receives dialysis treatment three days a week, four hours at a time to stay alive.
If he were to leave the country, Pacheco’s application for asylum would be void, his attorney said.
Gregorio came to the country in 2023, not long after his brother learned of his diagnosis, attorneys said. He came with the goal of helping his brother and was initially denied entry at the southern border, reportedly failing to prove to immigration authorities he had a reasonable fear of returning to Venezuela.
He tried again and was eventually released due to there being no deportation flights at the time. he was allowed to come to the Chicago area under immigration supervision, his attorney said. He has no criminal record, and ICE has been aware of his movements since.
Earlier this month, ICE agents reportedly detained Gregorio at the home in Cicero where he had been living with Pacheco.
“On March 3, I witnessed six ICE agents ambushing two brothers as they were simply trying to get to their dialysis appointment,” Leslie with the Berwyn-Cicero Rapid Response Team said. “This isn’t about immigration policy or legal status; this is about family.”
Advocates with The Resurrection Project said Gregorio’s main concern is staying in the country long enough for immigration agents to consider his case. They filed a stay of removal to delay or prevent his deportation, which was denied Monday.
While Gregorio’s attorneys plan to ask for a review of the decision, they are also asking immigration officers to consider releasing him on humanitarian parole so he could stay for up to a year in the United States to complete the kidney transplant.
“Relief in this case is not necessarily that Jose Gregorio gets to stay, it still very much could mean that he goes back,” Meinecke said.
"[Gregorio] has actually said that he's willing to return to his home country after being able to do the donation," said Tovia Siegel, Director of Organizing and Leadership for the Resurrection Project. "He was almost his brother's full-time caretaker. He wants to do the ultimate act of love and generosity to quite literally give a part of his body."
Pacheco and Gregorio were set to continue medical appointments this upcoming month related to the transplant process at the UIC Medical Center.
According to advocates with The Resurrection Project, even if Gregorio was not an exact match for his brother, he would still be able to donate his kidney to save someone else. As part of the kidney swap program, another person’s family member or close friend could donate a kidney in return, saving two lives in the process.
Advocates said Gregorio has no criminal history and is currently being held at a detention facility in Indiana. They started an online petition in hopes of appealing to the public for more help.
WGN reached out to ICE for a comment on the case and was told that, due to the Privacy Act of 1974, federal agencies are generally prohibited from sharing private information about individuals without their written consent, unless pursuant to a statutory exception.