Justice for Marc Alain Petitpierre
A few friends have gotten together to write the following to help Marc with a Go Fund Me account.
This is my friend Marc Alain Petitpierre.
Marc left Switzerland when he was 3 years old, then first came to United States in 1958. His father was an expert in the electrical engineering field of (classified) naval propulsion and became a consultant for the Navy. As such, both parents had to become naturalized citizens of the United States. Marc, being so young when he came here, was entitled to become a naturalized citizen when he was 12 in 1964, by way of derivative citizenship through the naturalization of his mom and dad. Marc remembers going to court as a child regarding his citizenship and he felt he was safely able to remain here.
Marc went to school here in California and I met Marc while we were in high school. After he graduated from high school Marc married, had two children, and moved to West Virginia where he has lived there for over 30 years.
Marc has been a lifelong activist since his mid-teens advocating for peace, justice, and progressive causes. Since 2016, he was at sign-waves with other friends displaying posters critical of Trump. Several protesters for Trump got angry with Marc’s posters. Unfortunately, West Virginia is a red State and has been since George W. Bush was elected. Someone called the police on him. When the police came out, they started to harass him. Recently, they gave him a parking ticket, which he went to court to contest. ICE then became aware of Marc’s case and the next thing he knew he was in an ICE cell waiting to be sent back to Switzerland. ICE claims that Marc is not a citizen and Marc is not entitled to become a naturalized citizen. Unfortunately, the paperwork regarding his mother’s citizenship is still being looked for by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. He did find his father’s naturalization papers.
Marc spent a little over six months in detention the Eastern Regional Jail in WV and at York County Prison in PA with no phone and lost his apartment by his landlord’s eviction, and almost all of a lifetime of his belongings. Friends tried to save much of what he had in his apartment, but many of his family heirlooms, clothes, and belongings were lost. Marc lives off of his Social Security and was getting about $850 a month. Because of the detention, his retirement income was lowered to less than $500, to pay for his Medicare supplement that was cut. Other benefits were cut, so his expenses are now costing him more than he makes.
Marc doesn’t deserve this. Picketing against a political figure is not grounds for police or ICE harassment and deportation of someone who has been a good citizen since he was child. Even some pro-Trump people
agree that he should not be sent back to Switzerland and they are concerned about his well-being.
In court ICE keeps dragging the process out to try to drive up Marc’s attorney fees and force Marc to give up fighting. The judge in the case has ruled against ICE on many of their machinations, but ICE keeps pursuing deportation. For instance, ICE has now brought up a 1972 ticket for marijuana as a justification for deportation. ICE has to stop acting like the Gestapo and picking on people who have the right to be here.
We are seeking to raise $2,000 at this time to help with getting his citizenship, which he is entitled to since his parents had become naturalized citizens, and help with housing and utilities. His attorney has now recently agreed to help with his case on a pro bono basis. But here are still legal expenses and previous legal fees. BTW, his attorney says he has a very winnable case, on several grounds. Please help stand with us for Marc and show ICE we won’t stand for this anymore.
If you can help Marc while he is trying to get his Citizenship, even though he has Permanent Residence here in the USA, and stop ICE from kicking him out of the country for exercising his first amendment right of free speech, he would be forever grateful. Marc's situation has incurred many expenses that he needs to pay but cannot work at this point in his life. He needs our help and if you could donate to Marc, he, and his friends will forever be grateful to you. And please share his story with your friends that may also want to help. Even the amounts of $10-$20 would be helpful. Thank you.