ICE detains kidney donor Jose Gregorio Gonzalez in hope of saving his brother Jose Alfredo Pacheco from Berwyn, Illinois

BERWYN, Ill. — A man with 100% kidney failure is fighting to help free his brother on humanitarian parole after being detained by ICE.

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Jose Alfredo Pacheco suffers from 100% kidney failure and depends on dialysis three times per week to survive. He along with his attorneys spoke at a press conference in Berwyn, Illinois on Tuesday.

He is now fighting to help free his brother Jose Gregorio Gonzalez on humanitarian parole after Gonzalez was detained by ICE on March 3.

According to Pacheco’s attorney, Gonzalez came from Venezuela and applied for humanitarian parole in hopes of going through the kidney donation process to save his brother, but his detention is preventing him from doing so.

An attorney with The Resurrection Project, who is representing the brothers, told ABC News that Gonzalez was initially detained in Indiana, but his legal team learned on Tuesday that he was transferred, and his location is currently unclear.

Gonzalez’s stay of removal was denied on Monday, according to his attorneys.

The case is now being elevated to an ICE Chicago Field Supervisor and the community is rallying behind the brothers and is working to raise funds for Pacheco’s treatment, according to The Resurrection Project.

“This is literally a matter of life and death,” said Erendira Rendón, vice president of Immigrant Justice at The Resurrection Project. “ICE has the discretionary authority to release Mr. Gonzalez on humanitarian grounds. Every day he remains detained is another day his brother’s life hangs in the balance.”

“My health is at serious risk,” Pacheco said to a crowd in Spanish on Tuesday. “I have three children, nine-year-old twins and a 17-year-old back home, and I want to live to see them grow up. My brother used to take me to my appointments, but now I’m alone. My brother is a good man, not a criminal in Venezuela or here-he came only with the hope of
donating his kidney to me. I thought I was alone, but seeing the support of this community has moved me deeply.”

Rep. Edgar Gonzalez Jr., D-Chicago, also spoke to the crowd to support Pacheco.

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This is a developing story.