My name is Lisa Munyan; I'm just your average, semi-retired old woman living on a small farm in Maryland. Three years ago, I met an extraordinary young woman fleeing her home country of Nicaragua. After being threatened with imprisonment simply for being a journalist, she made the excruciating decision to leave her family and seek asylum in the USA. She applied for asylum, received a work permit, and hit the road to becoming self-sufficient. She went to school to become fluent in English, started classes to become a dental hygienist, all whilst working full-time in a warehouse.

Then, at a routine check-in in Baltimore, she was snatched up by I.C.E.

If you've met Ariana, you already know what a gentle and kind soul she is. Hard working, honest, just a lovely person. She is the recipient of a scholarship from the local community college; an example of her work ethic and determination. But she has anemia and is vulnerable.

Ariana spent 2 days in detention in Baltimore, where they confiscated her coat and sweater and gave her a silver sheet. Then, she was flown to Louisiana and now is being held in Arizona. Her immigration hearing had been set to be heard in Baltimore in February, but now it will all be heard in Arizona.

This fundraiser is to help Ariana pay for hygiene supplies and telephone calls to her family while she is detained, and for her lawyer to fly to Arizona and plead her case. She is absolutely NO threat to the USA; she pays taxes and contributes to this country, and she has a legitimate asylum application pending. WHY she was ever considered a threat and detained is beyond comprehension.

Ariana has a wonderful Maryland attorney who has pledged to work for her no matter where she is sent. No one anticipated her being detained, nor her lawyer having to fly across the country to support her. While she was working, she was able to make payments to the attorney; now she has no source of income.

Thank you so much for reading this request, and thank you for any help you may be able to offer Ariana, even if it is simply sharing her story with others.