My name is Valerie Madriz, and my dad was detained by ICE on April 22nd, 2025, and as of July 17th, my dad has been deported.

With my dad no longer working, it puts a strain on our source of income. We still have bills, insurance, and college to pay on top of buying groceries to keep us fed. There is only so much I can do as a fresh high school graduate. Your donation will be going towards food expenses, college, and will provide us with a safety net.

My parents are good people, and we need your help. Despite working diligently, paying taxes, and abiding by American laws, the legal system is targeting them because they are undocumented immigrants. They have spent years persevering and striving for the American Dream, only to have it all ripped from them. By proceeding with the deportation of my parents, America is tearing our family apart; they're taking my parents away from me. Let that sink in. Repeat it to yourself because it is a cruel and unfair reality. I am a 17-year-old American citizen. I cannot live without the support and presence of my parents. We are a low-income family, and my parents work multiple jobs to ensure that I have an education and the support I need. I am wholeheartedly focused on my pursuit of a better education and a better life in hopes of being able to give back to my parents after they’ve done so much for me, and in detaining my father, they are putting my future in jeopardy. I am still a child. In deporting my parents, ICE will destroy not only my parents' lives but mine as well—a U.S. citizen who has the potential and capability to make this nation a better place. Please, I beg of you, hear the pleading and urgency in my voice and help me relieve some of the financial burden being placed on my family. Help me help them, please.