Maybe you all remember five years ago I asked you for help for my student, Pedro, to pay his immigration lawyer after he was arrested for no reason and deportation process began.

Pedro is a great student and has worked as a line cook for 14 years.

He originally left Guatemala in 2010 because he was fleeing from gang violence and was afraid for his life. He also wanted to earn more money to help his mother, who is now really sick and can’t walk.

With your help, Pedro was able to pay his lawyer, and his case is still pending, waiting for a judge in Virginia to decide.

Three years ago he met Mayra, a young woman from Guatemala, who came here five years ago. She was fleeing an abusive situation with the father of her 8-month old son. She came to the US by herself. She didn’t know anybody here, but an immigrant support group helped her get to Albany. Pedro and Mayra and her now 6-year old son, Jonathan started living together 3 years ago and got married last month. Last year on Christmas Day, they parked their car, went into their apartment, then heard shots 10 minutes later. When they ran out to see what happened, their car car was completely destroyed by bullets, and one of the bullets entered their apartment. Thank God, no one was hurt.

Now, his lawyer says that this horrible incident might actually help their cause to be able to stay here. The problem is, the legal fee to get all three of them to be legal immigrants who can work and get citizenship is $14,000. Pedro took a loan to pay the first $7000. He is working full-time, but Mayra does not yet have an Employment Authorization card.

Pedro visited me recently and asked me if there’s anything I can do to help, so we are asking for your help. My hope is that we can help him pay his legal fees so they can stay safely in the U.S. and become excellent citizens.

Pedro says: “I will be so grateful for your help to be able to stay in the U.S. with my family and be safe from the violence we faced in Guatemala. We love this country. God bless you.”