On September 8th, 2018 our family’s lives were forever changed when my father Lionel Taboada- Arzate was detained by ICE. After what feels like an eternity away from our father – (as he is still being held at an ICE detention center) we have been informed that they plan to deport him to a country he has not seen since he was 14 years old. My parents have been married for 25 years and have raised a loving family of 4. My Dad has lived in the United States for over 30 years, and in this time has built strong and loving relationships. As you can see, this has been the most devastating experience for us all. Yet and still, we are trying our best to remain calm as we fight to keep my Dad here in the U.S. where he belongs.

I started this GoFundMe to help my parents through this horrific time. The funds collected here will go towards a variety of expenses including lawyer and legal fees and living expenses for my mother as my father was the sole provider in the household and is no longer there. Please feel free to read our story.


Our Story:

My father came to America at age 14 in hopes of finding a better life here. He worked many jobs to better himself financially. In 1989, he met my Mother, and they later married 4 years later. They raised our beautiful, loving family of 6 in Grand Rapids, MI and have been residents ever since.

In 1999, my Mother was injured on her factory job, and has no longer been able to work due to many medical conditions. As a result, my Father has worked even harder, giving his all in order to provide for himself, and the 5 of us. While my Dad has been very supportive and loving of his kids, his love and care extends to his 4 grandchildren as well! My Dad is currently being held in a detention center, and we are mortified. My Dad is not a bad person. He is a wonderful human being who has always found a way to make due for us even when times were hard. Now, it’s my family’s turn to do the same for him. The blow of watching him being ripped from his life and our family is one that we could have never seen coming. The fear of losing my father due to his immigration status was never a concern of ours because we knew he had a permanent resident status. Now due to mix-ups and miscommunications, we have found ourselves in the middle of a nightmare.

We have quickly learned that the deportation process is not simple nor cheap. On top of trying to fight for my Dad’s rights, my Mom now has many legal fees and other expenses she has to pay due to my fathers unexpected threat of deportation. This experience has resulted in immense physical and mental stress on my mom, who was recently hospitalized due to a panic attack as a result of this ordeal. Even still, while carrying the stresses of everyone in the family, my mom has been working extremely hard to keep us all strong.

We thank you for the overwhelming love and support that has been shown by our friends and family. We are blessed and grateful for the help we have received from everyone this far.