My husband Júlio was apprehended by ICE at his green card interview on October 1st, and after six weeks of detainment in a private facility he is officially being deported to Brazil.

I launched this GoFundMe primarily to help pay for legal fees—this is still very much the case, as we will now be fighting alongside our lawyer to bring Julio back to the US as soon as possible. This process will take years.

This fundraiser has also taken on a new dimension: to help facilitate life for Julio in a country he’s been away from for years. He’s being sent back to Brazil with literally just his passport, his phone, and the clothes he was apprehended in. He has some family there, but he will be very much starting from scratch.

Any contributions to this cause will help provide much needed stability for Julio while he builds a life in Brazil for the time being. It will also help me travel between Brazil and our home in NYC so we can be together as much as possible while we work to bring him back.

This battle is far from over! Any support sent Julio’s way right now will help him survive this upheaval and fight to get back to the life we’ve been building together.