Alex Maganda has lived in the United States for 25 years. He came here as a child, graduated from Morehouse College, held a steady job, paid his taxes, and built a life with deep roots in his community. Now, after a traffic stop in Texas, he’s being held in an immigration detention center and faces possible deportation to a country he hasn’t known since he was five.

His DACA status recently lapsed — a mistake, not a crime — and one with devastating consequences under the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown. Alex is not a flight risk. He’s not a danger to anyone. He has a path to legal residency, and he deserves the chance to follow it outside of a detention cell.

Friends, family, and the Morehouse-Spelman community are rallying to bring him home. But ICE often ignores what’s fair unless the public shows up loudly.

We’re calling on ICE, the El Paso immigration court, and the Department of Homeland Security to grant Alex Maganda release on bond while his case is heard. And we’re calling on the public — especially in Georgia and Texas — to show that we don’t abandon our neighbors, our alumni, or our values.

Sign this petition to demand Alex’s release and to send a clear message: We don’t deport our classmates and community members over paperwork lapses. 

[Photo Credit: Atlanta Journal Constitution Maszoliin Spencer]