A hearing in the immigration case of Riverside High School student Wildin Acosta, scheduled for Wednesday morning at Stewart Immigration Court, in Lumpkin, Georgia, has been canceled, Acosta’s advocates tell the INDY.
“Instead, the judge ordered a $10,000 bond for him,” says Elisa Benitez of Alerta Migratoria NC. “He has to meet the full bond. But if he does, he’s out.”
Acosta, a nineteen-year-old Honduran immigrant living in Durham, was taken into custody by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in late January. He’s been there ever since. (Read our piece on Acosta’s situation here.)
In July, the Board of Immigration Appeals reopened Acosta’s case. His supporters have been calling for the release of Acosta, saying he’s been subject to solitary confinement and denied access to education at Stewart Detention Center. Congressman G.K. Butterfield also called on ICE Director Sarah Saldana to “exercise her existing statutory authority to release Wildin on his own recognizance.”
It now looks as though Acosta is on the precipice of leaving Stewart. A GoFundMe has been established to raise money for the bond. As of the time of this writing, it’s up to $3,810—a little more than a third of the way there. You can donate by going here.
Benitez says Acosta, if released, plans to go back to school and graduate from Riverside while his appeal for asylum works its way through the courts.
“We’re hoping we can get him out by the end of the week,” Benitez says. “That might be enough time to get him back enrolled before the school year starts.”
