Ice Detainees in Michigan Need Our Prayers and Support
“First and foremost, notice the human person before us” is a foundational commitment of the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids. Storming Heaven & Earth is a call for attention to the human beings detained by ICE in the Midwest United States’ largest immigration detention center: GEO North Lake Prison and Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan. Personal experiences and prayer requests will be shared regularly with family permission as an act of solidarity and hope, reflecting our commitment to those most vulnerable among us. Please join us calling for prayer, dignity, justice, compassion, and solidarity.
The Gospel teaches us that every person is made in the image of God. Why can’t immigration policies and practices reflect this fundamental dignity?
Nael was 9 years old when he and his family arrived in America, seeking a better life. America is the only home he has ever known. He grew up here. He built his life here. He is a legal citizen, a husband to Christina, father of four, and grandfather of two. He is scheduled for deportation for a crime he committed in 1989 and for which he served his time in the U.S. justice system.
Nael’s Story
The Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids invite you to join us in prayer for Nael S. and his family during this incredibly difficult time. Nael is a husband and devoted father from Genesee County who has been separated from his family since August 7, 2025, after being taken into ICE custody. A legal immigrant who came to the United States as a small child, Nael has lived nearly his entire life here, forming deep roots in family, community, and work. Nael’s detention is tied to a crime he committed in 1983, for which he served his sentence in the U.S. justice system more than four decades ago.
Nael was born in Jerusalem, Palestine, a homeland shaped by conflict and displacement. It is not a country he can realistically return to. He now faces the possibility of being sent to Israel, currently at war with Nael’s home country.
“I was born in Palestine, and they’re trying to send me to Israel,” Nael shared. “I don’t know nobody in that country… I was born in Palestine, and there’s no more Palestine.” (East Village Magazine)
We acknowledge that Nael committed a crime decades ago and served his sentence. Guided by the Gospel, we reject endless punishment and do not believe it is just to deport him to Israel, a place that is not his homeland and where he has no family, community, or protection.
We invite you to hold Nael and his family in prayer—for justice rooted in truth, for peace amid uncertainty, and for the reunification of this family.
This story reflects the most accurate information available as of January 16, 2026, shared in a spirit of prayer and solidarity.
Articles about Nael
ABC 12 News https://tinyurl.com/yu6rksxv
MLive https://tinyurl.com/2x2k428w
Newsweek https://tinyurl.com/5dp2mepc
East Village Magazine https://tinyurl.com/52cf4rj5
Change.org https://tinyurl.com/msr6byup
We Pray for Nael
Loving God,
We praise you and we bless you; we thank you for your unending love and compassion. We come to you to pray for Nael.
Our brother Nael is grieving the loss of his freedom and the pain of being separated from his family and friends after being taken to the ICE detention center.
We pray that Nael and his wife, children, and grandchildren be comforted. May he and his family know your grace of your Loving presence during this difficult time.
May he and his family know your grace and mercy and justice through the community of helpers. May all their needs: financial, spiritual, therapeutic, and legal, be fulfilled in a way that is skillful, wise, and will be effective.
Tender God, as Nael is away from his family, keep him safe in the care of law enforcement personnel. May they recognize their shared humanity with Nael and act with empathy, restraint, and justice.
We pray, fervently and faithfully, believing all peoples, O God, are made in your image and likeness, that the power of Love can break through the chains of fear that separate us.
We pray that your Peace, O God, emboldened by our faith gives us the courage to continue to speak truth to those who have the power to give Nael his freedom.
We ask this through Jesus who lived, died and lives now through us. Amen.
Share Nael’s Story
Please consider joining the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids in solidarity by witnessing and praying for human beings detained by ICE in the Midwest United States’ largest immigration detention center: GEO North Lake Prison and Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan, and throughout the United States.
You are invited to read and pray with Nael’s story—and, if you feel called, to share it with your friends, parish, and wider circles so these stories and people are not forgotten.
How to Share
- Copy and paste the link to this blog post in emails https://www.grdominicans.org/in-solidarity-with-ice-detainees-storming-heaven-earth-with-dominican-sisters-grand-rapids/
- This document is also available to view, print, and share as a PDF
He’s my son in law and we love him and want him back home. I pray for him daily!
Patricia, our hearts are with you. We hope raising awareness of the heartbreaking circumstances surrounding Nael and your family opens hearts to the injustice and cruelty of actions by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.
I wholeheartedly support and kudos to all of my Dominican Sisters at Marywood for launching this worthwhile and vitally needed project of “Storming Heaven and Earth”. This is exactly what we have been talking about in Together West Michigan: getting the stories out.
I have been up to the GEO North Lake Prison and Processing Center in Baldwin twice…privileged to talk and listen to those held prisoners there. I can’t remember seeing more sadness, tears, and anxiety than I witnessed in Ballwin. The greatest pain they mentioned was the tragic and unnecessary pain of being separated from their children of all ages, their spouses, siblings, parents, etc. I repeated over and over that I would love to get them released but am not able to. I just kept saying: “I stand with you in solidarity with your pain and I am WITH YOU.
Joachim Lally, CSP, Cathedral of St. Andrew, Grand Rapids, MI.
Fr. Joachim, what’s extraordinarily sickening is the thought of how many U.S. citizens who have served sentences in our U.S. Justice system are now being caught up in these ICE raids — not for violent crimes, but for petty crimes or crimes they have served their time and have returned to civilian life.
I met I.C.E. victim famiy Lizbeth Poblete Buccolini and new born infant daughter Kayla Rodriguez Buccolini over a weekend at St Gregory Church in Hart ,MI.
Previously her common-law husband Klever Antue Rodriguez Podesta and Lizbeth were both taken into cutody by I.C.E and trasferred to Detroit. Both had legitimate documents to work in the USA. Klever was deported to an unknown destination. Lizbeth was released and put out on the streets in Detroit.
Someone saw her in distress and labor, and took her to a hospital. Shortly after the she had her child, Kayla Rodriguez Buccolini.
Mother and daughter returned to Hart, Mi. I had lunch with Lizbeth and Kayla and volunteer Penny Borillo (231-239-3058) from Hart, Mi and learned of her treatment by I.C.E.
Please contact Penny Borillo 231-239-3058 for all information (and corections of my account).
Fr. Paul Milanowski – pam1029@yahoo.com
The horror stories coming out of Baldwin of the cruelty , are beyond anything I ever thought could happen in this country, let alone just up the road in Baldwin. We can not look away. We must find ways to help those suffering. God help us all but especially the victims of ICE.
Thank you for this information. What is the most effective thing I can do to help?
Thank you for your support, Bill. Our Promoter of Justice will contact you.