Dear friends,

I was flying back from California to Chicago on Wednesday, November 29th, looking forward to my retirement on November 30th. But due to some crazy circumstances, that was not to be.

I ended up sitting next to 3 young adults. As it turns out, they were refugees: Victoria (18), her brother Jose-Daniel (26), and a friend, Robino (18), who walked together to Mexico. We spent two hours talking through the translator app on my cell phone. During our conversation, they told me they have never walked so fast in their lives, seeing things they wish to erase from their memories (their words directly translated from the app).

After walking every day for well over a month, they spent 2 months in Mexico City completing the necessary paperwork to legally enter the USA and working odd jobs to pay for their flights to Chicago. Right before boarding the plane to Chicago, they found out the friend they were going to stay with could no longer take them in. This meant they would have no place to stay when they arrived in Chicago. They told me that they said a prayer for God's help before boarding the plane...which is the reason for this email.

As Venezuelan immigrants, they are eligible to live and work in the USA. However, even though they have paperwork that allows them to enter the US, they still need to apply for and be granted, a work visa. In order to legally remain in the USA, they must go before a judge and they show that they have a permanent US address to officially obtain asylum. Fortunately, they followed the rules when they submitted their paperwork, and they have a hearing before a judge at the Federal Building downtown on January 16 and 17. Once their case is (hopefully) approved, it will likely take 3-6 months for the final paperwork to be issued so they can legally remain here.

However, right now, they have nothing. They are very nice, quiet, respectable, religious young people - educated and so extremely thankful for any help we can provide. [Jose-Daniel completed 3 semesters as a mechanical engineering major, but had to quit due to the situation in Venezuela.] They have been in contact with their parents to let them know they are safe and their parents are so very grateful and relieved. They are connecting with other people in Chicago that have/are going through similar situations to see if they can provide insight and assistance.

In the 7 days since we met on the plane, Julie and I have been with them every day, working to make progress. However, we are like fish out of water and have learned very quickly that the immigration situation is more complex than what you see on the news. With the help of some bi-lingual friends from my ex-office, we've had several conversations and have been able to fill in the details of their experience.

We found a temporary AirBnB in the Pilsen area that they are currently staying in for the next week. We've provided them with some clothes, food, Ventra transit cards, a US cell phone and other basic necessities. We are currently searching for a small apartment in the Pilsen/Little Village area that will give them a good base to start from.

There are many things to solve, but our asks are listed below. Any way you can assist is appreciated. Here's what we need help with:

Financial: apartment rent and utilities for 5-6 months, food, immigration filing fees, other.

Legal Assistance-Asylum Hearing: We would appreciate assistance preparing them for their January court appearance.

Legal Assistance-Work Visa: Since they entered the US legally, and have their CP-1 forms in order, they can submit a work permit application as soon as a permanant address is found. They don't need to wait until January to submit this form.

Jose-Daniel, Victoria, and Robino are very organized and have their papers in order. We've contacted some pro-bono legal services available for immigrants, but these services are overwhelmed. It would be extremely helpful if someone could recommend an experienced immigration attorney to assist in either or both of these cases. If they can help out at a reduced rate, that would be so appreciated.

Casual Work: Jose-Daniel, Victoria and Robino continue to stress that they want to work and earn money through odd jobs and tasks. Any small job, they will do. They do not want hand-outs, but they want to do something to help out with the expenses. This helps intergrate them into daily life, including working on their English skills.

Long term work: Once their work visa applications are in process, it would be a great service if we could get some referrals for employment that would suit them. When that time comes we'll get more information from them on their experience, etc.

Small furnishings, housewares, etc. Eventually, we'll send out a request for small items to fill a small apartment.

No matter what your position on the current state of immigration affairs in this country, I just couldn't send them to live on the street and add three more people to the problem.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

We thank you so very much for your support and prayers.

Pat and Julie

Pat and Julie Kelly will keep control of the funds and make sure that the money will only be used for resettlement expenses such as housing, food, legal, etc., until they are on their own.