Rodrigo Gonzalez Carbajal is a 19-year-old senior at McDonald County High School in southwest Missouri and a starter on the varsity soccer team. One night in late September, on his way home from a game, a local marshal stopped him outside his family’s home in Noel for driving 5 mph over the speed limit. He was still in his No. 4 jersey when he was taken away.

Rodrigo has no criminal record and no pending charges. He arrived in the U.S. with his mother in 2024, is seeking asylum, and has an immigration court date set for 2028. He showed the officer his work permit and Social Security card, and according to one of his teachers, he was set to apply for his Missouri license the following day. Instead, he has spent more than a month locked up at the Greene County Jail in Springfield, nearly two hours from his family.

The marshal was acting under a 287(g) agreement, a deal that lets local officers carry out immigration enforcement for the federal government. He reportedly signed it without the approval of the town’s aldermen. Since the arrest, Noel has suspended him and unanimously canceled the agreement. Residents across the political spectrum, including Trump voters, have packed city meetings to speak up for Rodrigo.

From detention, Rodrigo wrote his teammates a letter, read aloud at Senior Night, urging them to “fight for your dreams,” according to NewsNation.

Rodrigo is following the legal path to asylum. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has the authority to release him while his case moves forward. He belongs at home with his mom and brother, and back in class.

Sign the petition to urge ICE to release Rodrigo now, so he can finish his senior year while his asylum case is heard.