Update: 12.02.22

Carlos is free! Thank you for your support.

Make no mistake: Under the Biden Administration, our community is still vulnerable to xenophobic and criminalizing enforcement. Over the last year, the number of individuals in detention have more than doubled and with the opening of two new detention centers in our state, we have seen an uptick of local enforcement that devastates our community on the individual level.

Will you join us in fighting back?

We are asking for your immediate support in the case of Jose Carlos who was taken from his family by ICE on the morning of August 9 when he left home for work. José Carlos Gonzalez is a father, husband, worker and community leader who has been living in the U.S. for 24 years.

Philadelphia is the only place he knows and calls home.

During this time, Carlos has extended and grown a beautiful family with his now pregnant wife Fortuna, including his oldest daughter Penelope, his son Asaru, and four more children called Bulmaro, Xitlali, Tezcatlipoca & Quetzalcoatl (that are between the ages of 2-5).

Carlos is currently being held in a small cell in the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Phillipsburg, PA. Moshannon is presently the largest detention center in the entire Northeast and was opened in November 2021. He and his family are scared and extremely overwhelmed with all this, as all he wants is to come home to his family and friends. Carlos is terrified of being sent to a place he has not known since 1998 and separated from everyone he's known for more than half of his life. If he is to be deported, he will leave behind his beautiful family and friends with minimal possibility of seeing his family grow or being able to support them during such crucial years.

Carlos has been a crucial part of many cultural events in the city, including Girard Festival and Fleisher Art Memorial’s Day of the Dead Celebration which brings hundreds of people to the city each year. Jose Carlos, has been part of the planning committee for Fleisher’s Day of the Dead Celebration for over 10 years. Moreover, he is one of the founding members of Fleisher's Day of the Dead Celebration and for which he has volunteered to assist in the planning, crafting and implementation of the festival. In addition, for many years Carlos has donated the food for all volunteers, artists and staff that participate in this celebration; this is just one of many examples of how Carlos cares for his people and community.

Carlos is estimated and loved by many in his community. Help us bring him home.

At Juntos, we know that the only secure community is an organized one - will you join us in taking action to #BringCarlosHome?

Here are steps you can take & ways you can support:

• Sign and share our petition to #KeepCarlosHome
• Part of an organization? Sign your organization onto the sign on letter
• Donate to Jose Carlos' GoFundMe to support his family with their legal and living costs

Personal Statement from Fortuna, the wife of Jose Carlos

Jose Carlos Gonzalez Clemente is a person worth fighting for. He is a devoted son, brother, father, bonus father and friend. This is someone that takes pride in this family and the work that he does for other people because he wants you to do the same for him. He came to the United States to better himself and to create a family. He is respected and can be trusted. My name is Fortuna Moïse, and he is my best friend with a blended family, and we raise 7 kids together and are expecting. Carlos was taken by ICE when he walked out the door for work. Right now I am doing everything I can but have reached out for help...