For Immediate Release

February 18, 2026

Click HERE to download photos of UUP member Alex Gonzalez after his release on bail. Photo credits: Mindy Heath.

What follows is a statement regarding the release of UUP member Alcibiades “Alex” Lazaro Ramirez González from the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, where he was held after his arrest by ICE agents in October 2025. González posted a $15,000 bond and was ordered to wear a tracking device on his ankle, as per a ruling today by an immigration judge.

He was released shortly after 5 p.m.

González works at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. He and his husband, CSEA member Yannier “Yan” Vázquez Hildago, were detained by ICE while waiting to attend a scheduled immigration hearing.

Vázquez was released from the facility Feb. 17 after posting a $5,000 bond; he was not ordered to wear a tracking device. In January, a federal immigration judge ordered both men to be deported to Ecuador. González filed an appeal to the ruling Jan. 21; Vázquez appealed his order Jan. 22.

“The entire UUP community is overjoyed by the news that Alex was granted and posted bond and is free once again. Alex is a good man, a hard worker and a good neighbor. He yearns to become an American citizen and he, along with his husband, Yan, were following that path to citizenship when they were taken by ICE agents while waiting to attend an immigration hearing.

“At least now, Alex and Yan can fight their deportation order from their home instead of from inside a detention facility, a place they had no reason at all to be in. While Alex’s release is welcome news, it does nothing to protect him from being deported. As a union, UUP will continue to support him. He is UUP. He is one of us.

“I am sickened by the recklessness, the brutality and the extreme—and in some cases, bloody—violence brought to American communities by ICE agents who have trampled the law, ignored court orders and run roughshod as they predominately seek out people of color to drag into custody. These actions are not only condoned but encouraged by ICE leadership and the federal administration, making them all the more intolerable and unacceptable.

“UUP will always answer challenges from this administration that threaten our freedoms, the Constitution, our democracy and our way of life. We stand with Alex and with all law-abiding immigrants who were unfairly rounded up, detained and deported by this rogue regime.”

“In the meantime, we encourage everyone to donate to a GoFundMe site set up for Alex and Yan - at - to help them post bail, pay for legal expenses and help them rebuild their lives after months of detainment.”