The man who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this month was temporarily released from an Illinois facility on Friday after local advocates and officials sued freedom to allow local advocates and officials to resume the kidney donation process in the hopes of saving the lives of their brothers.
Jose Gregorio Gonzalez, who was detained on the ice on March 3rd, was reunited with his younger brother, Jose Alfredo Pacheco.
The brothers spoke at a press conference in Chicago on Friday morning, where they joined their legal team, local officials and advocates for the Revival Project community – a group that advocated for Gonzalez's release.
Jose Alfredo Pacheco is depicted during a renal dialysis appointment.
Jose Alfredo Pacheco
“I want to let you know that I am very pleased with my brother's release. We fought for a month and a month to achieve this goal,” Pacheco said in Spanish. “I would like to thank my attorney Peter's team. I would like to thank the press for reaching this goal. I am extremely grateful. Thank you very much.”
Visibly emotional and wearing a mask, Pacheco told reporters he had an early morning dialysis appointment and didn't want the illness from anyone.
Asked about the first thing he and his siblings would do together, Pacheco said he was going to call their mother so they could see together.
According to the Revival Project, Gonzalez was released from ice custody three hours earlier than planned on Friday morning. He was in custody at the Clay County Jail in Brazil, Indiana, Ice Records showed and was moved to Broadview, Illinois for release.
Gonzalez spoke in Spanish at a press conference and answered one question.
“He said he thought it was very incredible to see his brother for all the help the community gave him, all the support he felt he couldn't believe,” the translator said. “He probably didn't imagine it could be.”
According to his attorney Peter Meineck, Gonzalez has been granted release after being supervised for a year.
“Ice allowed Jose to stay for a year for removal and released him under the supervision's orders,” Meinecke said at a press conference Friday. “This means that ICE has determined that Jose's release is guaranteed due to urgent humanitarian factors. Jose will be able to return home where he can resume the process of donating his kidneys and saving his brother's life.”
He pointed out that Gonzalez must check in on ice regularly during this time.
“This is part of an alternative program to detention programs for individuals who are not in the public interest for those who are still in detention,” Meinecke said Friday. “Jose has been released under supervision and he will be eligible to apply for a work permit at the end of the year, but Ice can take him into custody and eventually try to take him away to Venezuela.”
An ICE spokesman provided a statement in response to an ABC News request for comment on Friday evening.
Meinecke, a lawyer for the Revival Project, told ABC News in an interview Wednesday that Pacheco had contacted the group for assistance after González was taken into custody earlier this month.
Speaking in Spanish, Pacheco spoke to the crowd at a press conference on Monday, calling for the brothers to be released.
Jose Alfredo Pacheco, Rig and his brother Jose Gregorio Gonzalez;
Jose Alfredo Pacheco
“My health is at a serious risk. I have 100% kidney failure and I rely on dialysis three times a week,” he said, according to a translation provided by the Resurrection Project.
“It's very difficult – sometimes I can barely get out of bed. I want to go home with three kids, nine-year-old twins and 17-year-olds and see them grow up. My brother was taking me to an appointment, but my brother is a good guy.
Meinecke said he had contacted ICE officers at González over the past few weeks and filed a request for release on March 25th for temporary humanitarian parole.
“He needs to show that his release is in the public interest or that it is necessary for urgent humanitarian factors. And in his case we argue for both,” Meinecke said. “Obviously, medical conditions speak to both. They are both urgent humanitarian factors, but organ donation is also in the public interest.”
Jose Alfredo Pacheco and his brother Jose Gregorio Gonzalez are portrayed as children and adults.
Jose Alfredo Pacheco
Meinecke explained that Pacheco was hospitalized in the US from Venezuela in 2023 and was allowed to apply for asylum, so he obtained a work permit while his asylum application was pending. His wife and three children remain in Venezuela. However, shortly after he arrived in the United States, he was suffering from stomach pain, according to Meinecke.
“[Alfredo] went to the hospital with severe abdominal pain, which is when he was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure,” Tovia Siegel, director of organizing and leadership at the Resurrection Project, told ABC News on Wednesday. “At the time, he was told he had 2% functioning of his kidneys and would need dialysis consistently, multiple times a week to survive, and really, his best chance to live a full, healthy life would be a kidney transplant.”
Jose Alfredo Pacheco was portrayed at a press conference held in Berwin, Illinois on Monday, March 31, 2025.
Revival Project
Since his diagnosis in 2023, Pacheco's condition has deteriorated, Siegel said.
“[Alfredo] I'm currently receiving it [dialysis] Three times a week, from 4am to 8am, his brother Jose came here to help him look after him. Siegel said he intends to donate his kidneys to save Alfredo's life. Last year, Jose was essentially a full-time caretaker for Alfredo, helping to cook, clean and donate his kidneys.
However, unlike Pacheco, when Gonzalez arrived in the United States from Venezuela “mainly to support his brothers,” he failed to pass a reliable screening of fear. During the supervised release, Gonzalez routinely checked in to his ice officer, provided his address and wore an ankle monitor, Meinecke said.
Siegel said Gonzalez was taken into custody when the brothers left the house to go to Pacheco's kidney dialysis appointment.
“It was shocking and devastating,” she said. “They lived together and lived an incredibly difficult life where one of their siblings was incredibly medical distress and suffering.”
“They were looking after each other and they survived together for a year,” she added. “And during that time, obviously you're deeply considerate of each other and love each other as your family does. [Gregorio] I had no contact with the police or the criminal law system, so one morning, a totally unexpected ice that you know came to their home. ”
González is likely to donate to the swap, but Siegel says he hopes it's a match.
Supporters are calling for the release of Jose Gregorio Gonzalez, who was detained by ICE at a press conference held in Berwin, Illinois on Monday, March 31, 2025.
Revival Project
Friday's release came after ICE refused to stay in the removal request filed by his lawyers on Monday, but the case was raised to a Chicago field supervisor, according to the Revival Project.
“It's literally a matter of life and death,” said Elendila Rendon, vice president of immigration justice for the Resurrection Project. “Ice has the discretion to release Mr. Gonzalez on humanitarian grounds. Having him remain in custody every day is another day when his brother's life depends on balance.”
