On Thursday morning in U.S. Immigration Court, Gary Kabeya, a 24-year-old asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was granted release on $7,500 bond.
Kabeya is known in Buffalo for volunteering at several organizations across the city, including GoBike Buffalo, Friends Feeding Friends and through several programs at his church, the Buffalo Dream Center.
He was originally taken into ICE custody and detained at the facility in Batavia at the end of October.
Judge Lena Golovnin said that the court determined he is not a danger to the community, adding “in fact, [it] appears he participates in the community where he resides.” The judge also mentioned the “overwhelming community support” present at the court proceeding, which Golovnin believes supports that he is not a flight risk.
A representative from GoBike told BTPM NPR that in addition to a GoFundMe raising nearly $30,000 for legal fees and bond for Kabeya, many community members had been visiting and sending letters of support.
ICE action in New York state, such as arrests, saw a significant surge starting in June of this year. Arrest numbers more than doubled from May to June, rising to 1,374 according to data from the Deportation Data Project and analyzed by fellow NPR-member station WXXI News.
