Today I dropped my dad off at work at 2:40pm and less than 30 minutes later, ICE raided his job. My heart sunk. Its a fear that children of immigrant parents cannot explain. I wouldn't wish it in anyone.

My DAD is a hardworking man who met my single mother & me when I was just 6 months old. He took me in as one of his own and has loved and raised me as such my entire life. He is the best father I could ever ask for. He is a man who came here for a better life at just 16 years old after losing both his parents. The same man who had to drop out of school in 1st grade to start helping his father work in the fields in Mexico. He is now 56 years old; he has lived over 50% of his life in the US. A man that has worked 2 jobs his entire life since coming to the US. He pays his taxes and follows the laws. He worked overtime EVERY week so that my mom could be a SAHM for our entire childhood and be there for us. He is NOT a criminal. He's a hardworking individual who helps out ANYONE & EVERYONE. It doesn't matter what situation we are in; he will always be there for everyone and is the type of man who’d give up his last dollar to give to a homeless person. Why? “Porque hoy por ellos y mañana para nosotros.”

Today, after dropping my dad off at work, within 30 minutes ICE arrived at the warehouse he works in. They went in through the back exit, and, as expected, chaos broke out and everyone started shouting, “La migra, la migra.” Luckily my dad was in the breakroom along with his twin brother and my cousin, who's a US citizen, so when they heard that, they ran out immediately and jumped into my cousin's car to escape. With the help of God, my mommy, our guardian angel up in heaven, and my cousin, my dad made it home safely this evening. He hasn't gone out besides to go to work for over a week now. It's mentally draining, and living in fear is not a lifestyle anyone should have to deal with. My dad takes pride in his work ethic and earning his hard-earned money.

He is now traumatized from the entire experience and emotionally shattered from realizing it isn't safe for him to return to work in the current state OC is currently experiencing.

As some of you may know, 2 years ago we lost my mom to unexpected medical negligence during open heart surgery. Even after my mom’s death, my dad NEVER changed his behavior towards me or cut me off because I wasn’t biologically his. He continued to love me and push me to finish my degree in honor of my mom when all I wanted was to drop out. These past two years have been rough for my family mentally and emotionally, and now with this, it saddens me that my family is once again left in an uncomfortable state in which we have to ask for help from our community once again.

Today I ask of you, our community, to please lend my family a helping hand. Any donation helps; the donations will help cover my dad's part of the bills, upcoming rent, and a lawyer to start his process towards an employment authorization or his citizenship/residency now that my brother (his biological son) is less than 2 weeks away from turning 21 and will be able to sponsor him very soon. Thank you in advance for any help you may give; may God bless you and your families.

Lastly, I urge you, if you have a family member that works at a warehouse company or through an agency, to please stay home for their own safety. I don't know what my brother & I would have done had they taken our dad from us. He is all we know, the only family we have and have contact with here in the US. The only living parent we have. He is our rock, the most integral part of our family, so we need him here. Father's Day is coming up, so we'd be so grateful to be able to help ease his mind with any donations. Thank you for listening to our story… Please share and repost this in hopes it'll reach more people.