It's early September & *Jeanie got her five kids ready for school & daycare. She is currently 38 weeks pregnant with a little girl. When her husband went to get in his work van, he was taken by ICE agents who were hiding behind his apartment building that he has lived & raised his children in for 14 years. Since being here for 21 years, he has established a business, paid his taxes, & provided for his family of 7 (soon to be 8).

As part of her birth support team in the Boston area, we have seen the emotional vulnerability, relentless sadness & otherworldy strength Jeanie demonstrated toward the end of this pregnancy as its becoming more evident he will likely not be there for the birth of their little girl. (After being taken, he was transferred to a detention center in Buffalo & has since been transported to San Diego). Being deprived of hope is an awful thing to witness.

This is why we are compelled to advocate & share this story to address *Jeanie's very real & imminent needs, bring her a wave of monetary support in order to alleviate the unknown financial component & gather a group of people that believe a country & thus a community can raise a family up instead of break a family apart. We can actually do something powerful together for her, her children & her husband; you can give what you can & define justice by taking local action, celebrate resilience & garner compassion. We got this!

Our goal is to provide *Jeanie with rent for October, November & December; provide the money for the lawyer (she has paid him $4,000 & will owe another $3,000), & give her a cushion for the ongoing costs of caring for a newborn & 5 other children under 15. If we gather more than our goal, we will allocate the amount to a fund called FUENTE to help other women who we meet in the birth world who are also in a position that is far from ideal whether that means not having a carseat or being at the end of their pregnancy & being threatened by ICE.

Please give this kind-hearted, resilient woman what you can as she very likely heads into her birth without her husband.

Note that *Jeanie is not her real name & we are not sharing any photos to protect her & her children.

Update:

This mother gave birth to her beautiful baby without her husband by her side. She was wrapped in her beloved's favorite shirt. She was born in the evening weighing 7lbs 6oz.

Legal fees are incurring, rent is due today (October 1), and there are now six children to care for. The future remains uncertain and unstable.  Since being held, he has been threatened by deportation without due process several times.

Please donate to support this genuine, hardworking & kindhearted family in a time of tremendous uncertainty and pain. No amount is too small, and every dollar will go directly to supporting the family. If you have any questions, material donations or legal advice (ideally Spanish speaking yet English is okay, too) that will benefit *Jeanie, reach out directly to us directly. You can also help by copying this & sharing it with a few people that are likely to provide fuel to this ongoing fight, this labor of love.