Guadalupe and Emanuel Diaz are imprisoned in an immigration detention center after being pulled off the street by ICE in South Burlington, VT. On August 27th, plainclothes agents pulled over the father and son while driving the van of the painting company where they work. Even though ICE was apparently looking for someone else, Guadalupe and Emanuel were detained and are now facing possible deportation.

Guadalupe Diaz and his son Emanuel migrated to the U.S. from their hometown in Chiapas, Mexico as farmworkers. Guadalupe worked on several dairy farms across Vermont before he and Emanuel moved to Winooski to work for a local painting company. Their employer writes that the two are “vital to the success of my business.” In their time in Vermont, both have organized with their community for human rights through their involvement with Migrant Justice and their participation in the Milk with Dignity campaign.

Guadaulpe and Emanuel are among the latest in a long string of detentions that has escalated sharply under the current administration. The night before their detention, Emanuel celebrated his 19th birthday with friends and family at the Champlain Valley Expo. They now find themselves behind bars in a detention center in Michigan, where ICE is moving to deport them. But the two are fighting their case. After weeks in detention, they have the possibility of winning their release.

Guadalupe and Emanuel must be freed! Sign the petition to tell the immigration judge to release the father and son, so they can return to their family and community in Vermont.