His family fears that if Ludovic Marcel Mbock is deported, he be persecuted because of his sexuality. WASHINGTON — Friends and family of Ludovic Marcel Mbock were left stunned last week when the Maryland man was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a routine check-in to renew his work permit. "The call I got on Tuesday threw me for a loop, because I wasn't expecting that," said his sister Diane Sohna. "It's just the anxiety. The unknown." Mbock came to the United States as a child from Cameroon in 2002. Court documents show he had a long-standing removal order, "which resulted from a grant of voluntary departure in 2005." It was eventually converted to a removal order. Despite the removal order, family and friends say Mbock completed his yearly check-ins and was able to renew his work permit without any problems from ICE for decades. "Everybody's in shambles," said Diane Sohna. "We're a tough family. So, we're just trying to hold it in, but I know it's getting to everybody." Mbock's attorney filed a habeas petition challenging his arrest. Attorneys for the government have yet to respond. On Wednesday, US District Court Chief Judge George Russell ordered the government to respond to the habeas petition and said Mbock could not be removed from the US or have his legal status changed pending litigation. WUSA reached out to ICE several times for comment. We did not receive a response. "We didn't think this would happen to someone complying with the processes that were told to him," said longtime friend Nikhil Delahaye. "We said we could take this moment and panic or really step up to see how we could help him." Mbock has no criminal history, has worked various retail jobs, and has been able to live his life openly as a gay man. Family and friends fear that if Mbock is returned to his native country of Cameroon, he could be targeted because of his sexuality. Under Cameroonian law, sexual relationships between people of the same sex are illegal and can carry prison time. "Cameroon is nowhere near like America, where being homosexual, queer, anything is okay. There are people in our family who still don't accept it," said Sohna. "You can go to jail, you get beat up, you can even get killed. We know stories of that." To help, a GoFundMe was launched to cover legal expenses. As of this report, more than $83,000 has been raised. Much of that support comes from the competitive fighting game community, where Mbock is widely known as a Street Fighter competitor. "We are working to make sure he's free, [but] we're also working to make sure he never has to be harassed again," said Delahaye.