December 27, 2009
Dear Honorable Judge Cassidy,
I would like to request a few minutes of your time to explain my background to you and ask for your forgiveness. I want to be clear, these are not excuses but explanations of where I come from. I would like to convey why I am not a flight risk and how my life has changed for the better.
My mother was a single parent who raised me for most of my life. My father was not present. In California, my mother worked hard in minimum wage jobs to support me. I struggled to learn English and to discover where I belonged in my community. My mother did the best she could but because of the harsh way that she was raised, we were shown little love and compassion.
In school, I was unable to find a group where I belonged. However, when I started high school, I thought I had found a second family where I could find love and attention. Unfortunately, this “second family” was a group of teenagers that lacked parental guidance and found ways to impress each other in less than appropriate ways. Soon, I started to realize we were going nowhere fast and I wanted more from my life.
Out to find myself, my purpose, and improve my life, I moved away from my friends and family and started a new life in Minnesota. It was there that I met my American wife, Emily Nelson Guzman. We inspired and challenged each other and found the meaning of life and family. In 2006, our son, Logan Guzman, was born and he further improved our lives and gave us a higher purpose. Our purpose was to give him a better, more stable, and loving environment than we were provided and help to him to make a positive impact on our community. In the past 10 years, I have worked hard to provide for my family and more recently to be a loving and caring father.
Unfortunately, my detention has caused my family to suffer greatly. The suffering would only increase if I was deported. It would hurt me immensely to carry on the legacy of a child without a father. My American born wife and American born son could not prosper in my home country. It is a poverty stricken, violent country that is not a place to raise a family. All I want is to work hard, contribute to my community in a positive way, and love and provide for my family.
I have now been detained for more than three months and I am asking you now to please forgive the mistakes of my youth, and reunite me with my family by granting me a bond. I have made meaningful changes in my life and will raise my son to be an honorable, hardworking man that will contribute to society in infinite positive ways, if only you will allow me to be a present, positive male role model that my son needs. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Pedro Guzman Perez
