Out of options, Garcia, who like others in this piece is using a pseudonym to avoid retaliation, messaged a lawyer on WhatsApp he heard about from fellow bike messengers. The attorney agreed to take his case, so Garcia wired the first payment: $3,200 through a Western Union transfer. He promised to pay the remaining $2,800 once the work was completed.
Several of the men said that they didn't have bathroom access on the plane - or even seats. They flew shackled in the cargo area of the plane. They'd been transferred from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, to the Anchorage Correctional Complex, a facility run by the state Department of Corrections.
The legal process to prove rightful heirship can be complex and costly, and disproportionately affects families in underserved communities, said Byron Batres, founder and CEO of Scrivnr. Scrivnr's mission is to make legal services accessible so families can resolve title issues and fully claim what's rightfully theirs. Scrivnr's press release cited recent data from The Pew Charitable Trusts, which estimates that tangled title properties across Philadelphia are collectively worth more than $1.1 billion.