PAIFUP

News from the fight for freedom, safety and dignity for all immigrants

detained or facing deportation in Pennsylvania.

July 2026 | Issue 5

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What's Happening?

In July, 1 PAIFUP client was released thanks to the efforts of our legal services and community partners.

Thanks to the Philadelphia Defenders Habeas Project, 27 people were released.

Check out what's current with news articles about matters impacting our community.

This month we are spotlighting Juntos, one of our collaborating organizations. Please check out their website linked in the article below.

Stronger together: Meet our Affiliates

JUNTOS

is a community-led, Latinx immigrant organization in South Philadelphia fighting for our human rights as workers, parents, youth, and immigrants. We believe that every human being has the right to a quality education and the freedom to live with dignity regardless of immigration status. JUNTOS combines leadership development, community organizing, and focused collaborations with other community-based and advocacy organizations to build the power of our community members so they may be active agents of change and work against their own oppression.

Juntos

Client story: Fabian

Fabian fled Cuba in October 2019 due to political and religious persecution. Upon arriving at the U.S. border, he expressed a fear of return but was forced to remain in Mexico under MPP (Migrant Protection Protocols). While awaiting his hearing in El Paso, he was kidnapped and brutally raped for approximately one month. This kidnapping and torture caused him to miss his Master Calendar Hearing, and he was ordered removed in absentia in February 2020. Fabian re-entered the U.S. in early 2021. After a brief detention in Yuma, AZ, he was released under an Order of Supervision (OSUP) because he could not be removed to Cuba or a third country. For the next four years, he lived in Lancaster, PA, attending every annual ICE check-in and maintaining a clean criminal record.

In September 2025, ICE placed an ankle monitor on Fabian without explanation. In October 2025, he was arrested during a non-routine check-in and has been detained at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in PA ever since. PAIFUP took on his case and on December 18, 2025, we filed a motion to reopen. The Immigration Court erroneously rejected the filing, claiming his "Change of Adress/ information" form was missing, despite the form being included in the original submission. We refiled the motion on December 23, 2025, immediately upon learning of the rejection. Despite 600 pages of corroborating evidence of his torture in Mexico showing why he missed his hearing, the IJ denied the MTR on February 18, 2026.

The IJ's reason for denying was that Fabian could not remember the exact dates of his month-long kidnapping and assault. We appealed the denial to the BIA. The BIA denied the appeal. Outside pro bono counsel is currently pursuing a PFR (Petition for Review) in the 5^th circuit.

In December of 2025, Fabian also got notice he would receive a third-country fear screening to be deported to Mexico. He underwent 2 fear screenings and still has not heard back. In March 2026, we filed a habeas petition in WDPA (Western District of PA) based on improper OSUP revocation, third-country removal issues, and Zadvydas. We worked with Kennedy Human Rights on this case with advising on the third-country issue by NILA. On July 30, 2026, the habeas petition was granted and Fabian was ordered immediately released from detention. He is now reunited with his family and U.S. citizen daughter after several months apart.

In Other News

A lawsuit challenges arrests of immigrants who come to Philly's ICE office for routine appointments

The lawsuit says a policy change by ICE in Philadelphia was unlawful, and turned arrests of immigrants during routine check-ins from an "unheard of" occurrence to a routine practice.

ICE looking to open new detention facility in Philadelphia

The agency is looking for space in Philadelphia that will hold 1,800 beds and is located no more than 50 miles of a local airport.

Questions emerge as ICE outlines need for detention facility near State College

ICE seeks a 1,800-bed detention facility near State College, similar in capacity to an existing Clearfield County center.

Philadelphia needs to do more to enforce 'ICE Out' legislation, activists say

Immigrant rights groups on Tuesday requested a meeting with Parker and outlined what actions her administration should take to implement the new laws.

ICE prepares major operation targeting Haitians losing TPS after Supreme Court ruling

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to dramatically ramp up operations to locate and arrest Haitian nationals whose Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is expected to end imminently, multiple federal sources told Fox News.

ICE arrests 10,000 in 5 days, a sharp late-June surge in Trump's deportation push

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested 10,000 people over a five-day period at the end of June.

Catch up on the previous issue here!

Questions? Comments? News worth sharing? Send Yomayra Burgos, our PAIFUP coordinator, an email at yburgos@pirclaw.org.

The Pennsylvania Immigrant Family Unity Project (PAIFUP) is a collaborative of nonprofit organizations in Pennsylvania formed in order to achieve universal representation for detained immigrants facing removal proceedings in PA.