Gabriel Guzman was born in the Dominican Republic. His father came to the United States and became a naturalized citizen in 1992. Soon after, Gabriel’s father petitioned for him and his siblings to enter the U.S. with a green card. Gabriel was 10 years old when he arrived in the U.S. and eventually applied to become a U.S. citizen. More than 26 years later, Gabriel found himself in an immigration detention center in El Paso, Texas attempting to prove his legal status. Gabriel derived his status from his father, who had since passed away. This made the process of proving Gabriel’s status that much more difficult.

Gabriel’s mental health was steadily declining while he remained at the detention center. Ms. Castro worked tirelessly with Gabriel’s relatives, the local passport agency and the local branch of the Social Security Administration to obtain the documents neeed to prove Gabriel’s status.

Finally, good news came. After working closely with the local office of the Social Security Administration, Ms. Castro successfully obtained the documents needed and submitted them to DHS. Just one day later, Gabriel was released from ICE custody and his deportation order was terminated. Gabriel was finally able to reunite with his family after 13 years.

“I am an American citizen and still had to go through such a difficult process. Our rights continue to be violated. Thanks to this organization, I am finally back with my family and enjoying my freedom. It would not have been possible without people like Marysol and her legal team (Stephany Mariles) who worried about me and believed in me. It made all the difference. From the bottom of my heart, my family and I are so grateful to your organization.”

“I know that there are a lot of people out there who need help the way that I needed it. The only thing I can say is thank you Marysol, Stephany, and thank you DMRS.”

It is because of your contributions that the legal team at DMRS can continue to fight for clients like Gabriel.