Bring Natalie Home: Help Correct an Immigration error

Dear friends, family, and kind strangers,

I’m reaching out on behalf of my mother, a brave, selfless woman who has always given everything to support her family and build a life in the United States. Since 2004, my mother has worked hard, filed taxes, and built a community, believing wholeheartedly that she was a U.S. citizen. In fact, she has even been helping me navigate my own immigration journey since 2008. Yet despite her commitment and belief in her citizenship, she has been detained in an immigration facility since May due to a heartbreaking bureaucratic error.

In what seems to be an error in her documentation, it was discovered—shockingly and mistakenly—that she may not be a citizen. This has led to her unjust detention, turning her life upside down and placing an enormous financial burden on our family. Until now, every indication, including official communications, had affirmed her citizenship, and she had never been told otherwise. We never imagined that a paperwork error could have such severe consequences.

For nearly six months, my mother has been in detention, isolated from her family, unable to work, and forced to face an uncertain future. As her only child, I am doing everything in my power to bring her home, including covering legal fees, helping with living expenses, and supporting her every step of the way. But the costs continue to rise, and we are running out of resources.

This campaign is to raise funds for my mother’s legal defense and to correct this error once and for all. Our goal is to secure her release, reunite her with our family (listening to my children beg to see Grandma is breaking my heart), and ultimately prove her rightful place as a U.S. citizen. Every dollar raised will go directly toward her legal representation, immigration-related costs, and support while she is unable to work.

If you are able, please consider donating or sharing this campaign to help us navigate this incredibly challenging time. My mother’s life has been put on hold for reasons she could never have anticipated, and we are doing everything we can to help her regain her freedom and dignity.

Many of my friends and family along the way I’ve known my immigration struggles (it all boiled down to a form for removal of restrictions on my original visa; and with immigration, you must know what you’re eligible for. They will not tell you where the error is) since 2008 and it took me 12 years of doing it the right way before I finally found the error in my paperwork. The same now goes for my mother that we are looking for a needle in a haystack of what wasn’t filed properly and instead of just allowing us to do so they’ve detained her due to the current political environment.

Thank you for standing with us in this fight. Your support means the world to us. My mom is my only biological family I have. I don’t want to lose my mom and my kids grandma. If deported she’ll not be allowed to re-enter the United States for 10 years and her country of origin no longer exist to the future is uncertain.

With gratitude,

Mandy, Jelena, Bauer, and Natalie