My name is Patzy, and my father was taken by ICE on Sunday morning, August 10th. The day before, he was looking for work at Home Depot when ICE agents swarmed the parking lot. My dad locked himself in his car, and ICE agents ended up leaving him alone but took a picture of his license plate. We believe they then looked up his address with that information.

The next day, they waited in front of his apartment despite him never having a criminal record or any criminal history or encounter with the police. My father was taken as soon as they saw him step outside. My siblings ran out to see what was happening, and my mother watched, terrified and yet trying to advocate for him. They only managed to get a glimpse of him being surrounded by about 6 men and several cars as they left, and my family stood there in tears.

My father is a kind, loving father and husband who has always been there for his family. He loves reading, playing chess, listening to Spanish rock, and going to church every Sunday. He has been living in the United States since he was 18 years old, went to school to learn English, got his GED, and started a family.

We have been able to locate him and are trying our best to figure out what the next steps are.

Now that he is detained, we are seeking representation for him which will be around $10,000 plus filing fees. We are hoping and praying that we are able to bring him home, and want to do everything we can to try. Our father is everything to us, and having our family ripped apart has been heartbreaking to say the least.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and donations. We appreciate every single person who is out there doing the work, fighting for those who can’t. Please share our story.

Me llamo Patzy, y a mi padre se lo llevó el ICE la mañana del domingo 10 de agosto. El día anterior, buscaba trabajo en Home Depot cuando los agentes del ICE invadieron el estacionamiento. Mi padre se encerró en su coche, y los agentes

 del ICE lo dejaron solo, pero le tomaron una foto de la matrícula. Creemos que luego buscaron su dirección con esa información. Al día siguiente, lo esperaron frente a su apartamento a pesar de que nunca tenía antecedentes penales ni había tenido ningún encuentro con la policía. Se lo llevaron en cuanto lo vieron salir. Mis hermanos salieron corriendo a ver qué pasaba, y mi madre observaba aterrorizada, pero intentando defenderlo. Solo lograron verlo brevemente rodeado por unos seis hombres y varios coches mientras se marchaban, y mi familia se quedó allí llorando. Mi padre es un padre y esposo amable y cariñoso que siempre ha estado ahí para su familia. Le encanta leer, jugar al ajedrez, escuchar rock en español e ir a la iglesia todos los domingos. Ha vivido en Estados Unidos desde los 18 años, estudió inglés, obtuvo su GED y formó una familia. Hemos logrado localizarlo y estamos haciendo todo lo posible para determinar los próximos pasos. Ahora que está detenido, buscamos representación legal para él, que costará aproximadamente $10,000 más los gastos de trámite. Esperamos y rezamos para poder traerlo a casa y queremos hacer todo lo posible por intentarlo. Nuestro padre lo es todo para nosotros, y ver a nuestra familia destrozada ha sido, como mínimo, desgarrador. Desde lo más profundo de mi corazón, quiero agradecerles a todos por sus pensamientos, oraciones y donaciones. Apreciamos a cada persona que trabaja duro para ayudar a quienes no pueden. Por favor, compartan nuestra historia.