On Sunday, June 22, 2025, my world shattered.

My husband, Yousef Mehridehno, lovingly known as Joseph Mehri, had just finished Sunday worship with our family at church and was on his way home, like he always did. But that day, he never made it back. He was forcefully detained by ICE, without warning, without compassion, and without justice.

He was wrongfully profiled, targeted simply for being an Iranian national, a man of peace, faith, and integrity caught in the cruel machinery of a system that failed to see his humanity. Now he’s being threatened with deportation to a country he fled for his safety, a place where his life would be in danger.

And while the legal system treats him like a number, we’re over here, a wife, a daughter, a family, holding our breath every single day, just waiting for him to come home.

Our daughter is now a high school senior, on the brink of adulthood, standing at the edge of the future her father worked so hard to give her. Just weeks ago, she turned 18. It was supposed to be a milestone filled with joy, celebration, and the loving presence of her dad. Instead, she spent her birthday in tears. He missed one of the biggest days of her life, and she missed her hero. They are incredibly close. The pain they’re both carrying is more than words can capture.

Yousef and I were married on October 1, 2016. He is my best friend, my partner, my safe place. To know him is to experience true kindness. He has served others with everything he has, volunteering in disaster relief, supporting our Baptist church, helping strangers rebuild their lives, and giving without ever asking for anything in return.

Now we’re the ones in need.

We are doing everything in our power to fight this injustice, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. We’ve been blessed with incredible attorneys, but this was never something we could have prepared for. Our resources are nearly gone, and we are at a critical point in our legal fight.

The fear of losing him forever is unbearable. The idea of our daughter walking across that graduation stage without her dad there to cheer her on, to see her step into adulthood, it’s more than any family should have to endure.

The only thing that keeps me going when I fall to my knees in despair is the belief that one day soon, I’ll hold my husband again. That he’ll be there to hug our daughter as she takes her next steps in life. That our home will feel whole again.

I’m asking, praying, that you’ll help us bring him back.

Whether it’s a donation, a prayer, or sharing our story, your support means everything. Every single act of kindness brings us closer to reuniting our family and standing up against this injustice. If Yousef has ever touched your life, or if you believe no one should be torn from their family like this, please help us fight.

Please help us bring Yousef home.

With deepest gratitude,

Nicole Mehri & our daughter, waiting with love