BERWYN, Ill. — A man with 100% kidney failure is fighting to help free his brother on humanitarian parole after being detained by ICE.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
Jose Alfredo Pacheco is facing complete kidney failure and relies on dialysis treatment three times a week to stay alive. He and his legal representatives held a press briefing in Berwyn, Illinois earlier this week.
He is now fighting to help free his brother Jose Gregorio Gonzalez on humanitarian parole after Gonzalez was detained by ICE on March 3.
Pacheco’s lawyer explained that Gonzalez, who hails from Venezuela, had requested humanitarian parole with the intention of undergoing a kidney transplant procedure to help his brother. However, his detention is currently obstructing this potentially life-saving process.
A legal advocate from The Resurrection Project, representing the siblings, informed ABC News that Gonzalez was initially held in Indiana. Nonetheless, the legal team was informed on Tuesday that he had been relocated, and his whereabouts are presently unknown.
Gonzalez’s stay of removal was denied on Monday, according to his attorneys.
The case is now being elevated to an ICE Chicago Field Supervisor and the community is rallying behind the brothers and is working to raise funds for Pacheco’s treatment, according to The Resurrection Project.
“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. Gonzalez on humanitarian grounds. Every day he remains detained is another day his brother’s life hangs in the balance.”
“My health is at serious risk,” Pacheco said to a crowd in Spanish on Tuesday. “I have three children, nine-year-old twins and a 17-year-old back home, and I want to live to see them grow up. My brother used to take me to my appointments, but now I’m alone. My brother is a good man, not a criminal in Venezuela or here-he came only with the hope of
donating his kidney to me. I thought I was alone, but seeing the support of this community has moved me deeply.”
Rep. Edgar Gonzalez Jr., D-Chicago, also spoke to the crowd to support Pacheco.
I-TEAM REPORT | Concern on Chicago area college campuses after downstate international student has visa revoked
This is a developing story.
Copyright © 2025 ABC News Internet Ventures.
