Your support was essential to reuniting Chris Dyer with his family. This success is yours as much as it is ours.
View this email in your browser ([link removed])
[link removed]
** Chris is heading home!
------------------------------------------------------------
Dear friend of IDP,
Our work is rooted in an enduring belief in the inherent worth of all people. As a result, we take on advocacy where we can expose the way our current systems cause harm and where our actions can prevent or reverse devastating separation. Working with Chris Dyer and his family is an example of this rewarding work, which would not be possible without your support.
Chris came to the United States from Jamaica at the age of seven and grew up in New York. As a youth, he was arrested twice and served his sentence. Later, he married Toya - his high school sweetheart - and they started a family with two children and a move to Charlotte, North Carolina. Eager to become a U.S. citizen after twenty years, in 2016 Chris applied to naturalize. Despite his long residency in the U.S., it was his citizenship application that triggered his detention and deportation proceedings. Based on his old criminal case, Chris was deported to Jamaica. Chris has been separated from his wife Toya, his mother Donna, his two children and the rest of his family for the past seven years.
We first heard from Chris and his wife in August of 2022. After we spoke with them, collected documents and provided a legal analysis it became clear the only way Chris could come home was if he was granted a pardon from Governor Hochul. Chris had already tried this. He had filed a pardon application his own years earlier but never got any response. Together with Chris, his family, and partners in the Clemency Coalition of NY, we advocated heavily for the Governor to grant Chris a pardon. We talked with our contacts in the Governor’s office, reached out to elected officials, and led digital days of action to engage the public.
** In September, Governor Hochul granted 10 pardons to immigrant New Yorkers ([link removed]) - and we were thrilled that Chris was one of those pardon recipients! As a result of the pardon, Chris is now working with counsel to reopen his immigration case and pursue relief that will allow him to return home to the United States.
------------------------------------------------------------
Christopher Dyer said, “I never thought the day would come that I would be writing this. My family and I are still very much overwhelmed with tears of joy and happiness. I believe that our past does not define who we are in the present or future, but it can sculpt us to be a greater version of ourselves. Sometimes we make mistakes and unfortunately do not know what consequences we will face until it’s too late. After being deported I made it my mission to change my life in so many ways and have devoted my time to becoming a better person for my wife, children, family and community.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude and thanks to Governor Hochul for granting me a pardon for the actions I regret making. I also want to express my sincere appreciation and thank you to the Immigrant Defense Project and the team for their abundance of support and assistance during this challenging time. My family and I are overjoyed and want to say thank you again for granting me this opportunity to return home. I know the work is not done, but it is a significant milestone. Proof that never giving up and continuous work will eventually pay off.”
Donna Whidbee-Powell, Chris’s mother said, “My son did his time. He’s a great father, a great son, he is everything to me. As a mother whose son was separated from me, I have been impacted in every way - emotionally, financially, medically. Throughout all these years of separation, it only got harder every single day. I have always said that my greatest joy would be to have my son back home – and now, with a pardon from the Governor, that is finally within reach.”
** Whether big or small, your gift helps ensure community members like Chris have a chance to be reunited with their families.
------------------------------------------------------------
**
------------------------------------------------------------
** Please make a deductible donation ([link removed]) today!
------------------------------------------------------------
Donate! ([link removed])
[link removed] [link removed] [link removed] [link removed]
Logo
Copyright (C) 2023 Immigrant Defense Project. All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you either signed up for our newsletter or donated to Immigrant Defense Project.
Our mailing address is:
Immigrant Defense Project
P.O. Box 1765
New York, NY 10027
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences ([link removed]) or unsubscribe ([link removed])
