Family seeks bond help for Turkish 20-year-old held in Texas ICE facility

The family of Çınar Yiğitalp, a 20-year-old Turkish young man held at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Texas, has launched a fundraiser to pay his immigration bond, saying he has an active asylum case and a valid work permit.

The family of Çınar Yiğitalp, a 20-year-old Turkish young man held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Texas, has launched a fundraising campaign to pay his immigration bond.

On the GoFundMe page "Bring Cinar Home," his brother Çağrı Yiğitalp of McKinney, Texas, says Çınar has an active asylum case, a valid employment authorization document (EAD) and a Social Security number. "We are urgently raising $9,000," he wrote, adding that the money will be used exclusively to pay the bond through a certified agency so his brother can be released immediately.

As of Oct. 15, the campaign had raised about $2,400 from nearly 80 donors.

The Bluebonnet facility

Jones County Courthouse in Anson, Texas, home of the Bluebonnet facility (file photo)

The Bluebonnet Detention Facility is in Anson, the seat of Jones County in West Texas, north of Abilene. Built as a state prison that never housed inmates, it was opened by ICE as an immigration detention center in December 2019. It is run by the private company Management and Training Corporation (MTC) and was designed to hold about 1,000 detainees.

How immigration bonds work

Under U.S. immigration law, ICE or an immigration judge can release a detainee on bond while their case continues. The legal minimum is $1,500, but amounts are often much higher. The bond must be paid in full, usually directly or through a bond agency, and is refunded at the end of the case if the person attends all required hearings.

For asylum seekers, release on bond allows them to pursue their case outside detention, where it is easier to work with a lawyer and gather evidence.