A Venezuelan man detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Illinois last month has been granted temporary release to potentially save his brother’s life with a kidney donation.
José Gregorio González, 43, was released Friday from an ICE detention facility in Broadview under a one-year humanitarian parole with supervision. He was reunited with his brother, Jose Alfredo Pacheco, who is suffering from end-stage renal disease and urgently needs a kidney transplant.
“I didn’t think I’d be here,” González said in Spanish during a press conference, as reported by WGN. He expressed his joy at being reunited with his brother and said he planned to call their mother so she could see the two together again. “It’s been something unforgettable,” he added.
González arrived in Chicago last year and became his brother’s primary caregiver. On March 3, after returning from one of Pacheco’s regular dialysis appointments, immigration agents detained González. At the time, the brothers were undergoing medical testing to see if González was a compatible donor, according to NBC News.
Attorney Peter Meineck of The Resurrection Project explained that González was detained due to an outstanding removal order. After being initially denied entry at the southern border, González had spent several months in ICE custody and was released under supervision — including wearing an ankle monitor — but still faced potential deportation.
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Following his detention last month, local officials, community advocates, and immigrant rights activists rallied for his release. Pacheco, desperate for his brother’s help, reached out to the community for support. The brothers already had appointments scheduled with a local hospital to take the next steps toward the transplant.
“This is literally a matter of life and death,” said Erendira Rendón, vice president of immigrant justice at The Resurrection Project. “ICE has the discretionary authority to release Mr. González on humanitarian grounds. Every day he remains detained is another day his brother’s life hangs in the balance.”
Advocates said González intends to return to Venezuela once his brother’s procedure is complete. If he is not a match for his brother, he still plans to donate his kidney to someone else in need.
Meineck, who filed the request for temporary humanitarian parole on March 25, noted that González can now apply for a work permit. However, his future in the U.S. remains uncertain, as he could be detained again after the parole period ends.
