Yonnie Carrizo arrived from Venezuela on a visa more than ten years ago, escaping persecution after the bank where he worked was robbed and he was followed and threatened to keep quiet. Yonnie was denied asylum in the U.S., but he was in the process of marrying his U.S. citizen wife and adjusting his status when he was pulled over for a broken taillight, and placed in detention and deportation proceedings following unpaid traffic tickets. 

Yonnie has no criminal record and is married to a U.S. citizen with two stepchildren whom he cares for as his own.