“John came from Acapulco, Mexico, three years ago. He was 15. He enrolled in high school and excelled. He learned English quickly and made his father proud.

In October of 2008, John saw his school friends from his living-room window. He went out to see them. They had stolen a gas can from the back of a pickup truck. The police came. They arrested John, despite his friends’ protests. Instead of attending high school, John sat in jail.

Posting bail in immigration proceedings is complicated and expensive. The few bail bondsmen who will post an immigration bond require the full amount up front. John’s family struggled to raise the $3,500 needed for bail in addition to lawyer fees. Although the family’s lawyer knew that the charge could easily be dropped, he delayed the criminal trial to give them more time to raise the money before John was transferred to federal custody.”

Video by Eileen Mignoni/FacingDeportation.org. Reproduced with permission.

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This account is taken from Voices of Immigration, a campaign of Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CCIR) aimed at highlighting the stories of immigrants in our country. Believing that every person is made in the image of God, we seek to restore the human element to the conversation around immigration reform.