FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM
Donation protected
My name is Oneita Thompson and I now live in a church. I am here because ICE wants to deport me and my husband, separating us from our children. If my husband and I are deported, they will put my two youngest children in foster care. Just the thought of that rips me apart - so we made the hard decision to enter Sanctuary to keep our family together.
My husband, Clive, and I started our family in Jamaica, but after gang members killed my brother and threatened our lives, we took our 4 children and fled to the United States 15 years ago. We filed for asylum and received work permits. Over the past 15 years, we have worked, advanced our education, and sent our children to college. Our children did not qualify for financial aid, so we worked hard to pay for their education. On top of working, I went to school and now work as a nurse assistant. My husband Clive works as a machine operator. Over the years, we saved and scraped together enough money to buy our own home. Our home is the heart of our family - it's where we cook, where we eat, where I wake up to the smiles of my children, where we are together as a family. It means everything to us. But because of the extremist policies of this Administration, we have had to leave that home, leave our freedom, and take Sanctuary in a church.
Freedom is what my family and I have been longing for! It’s been 1 long year and 2 months living behind these brick walls of the church. Nevertheless, we will keep the faith, and fight going. We don’t want to be deported.
I will never forget when I listened to the message from ICE on August 24, 2018. They told me that my husband and I had to come in for deportation the following week. My heart was racing, and all I could think about was my family being torn apart and that we would be killed if we went back to Jamaica. As parents, Clive and I will fight to the end to keep our family together. We asked the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia for help, and decided to enter Sanctuary. We had to leave our home, both our jobs, our kids' schools, and our friends behind. We are now living in a church in Germantown. We cannot leave the church for fear of being arrested. We enter Sanctuary not only to stop our deportation, but to challenge immigration laws that tear hundreds of thousands of families apart. We enter Sanctuary to call attention to these laws that are immoral, unjust, and are hurting people all over the country. We enter Sanctuary to call for compassionate and just immigration laws.
We have faith that we will win this, that justice will prevail, and we will return to our home as a family again. But we can only do it with your help. UPDATE: Five months ago, June 13th, 2019 to be exact, our daughter became a US citizen and filed petitions I-130 for husband Clive and I. This is the first step and once approved, will help both of us adjust status to that of permanent resident. We will need to file some additional forms to complete that process.
Here is the name and cost for each forms (application):
1) I -485 Application to Register permanent resident. Cost $ 1225 each
2) I -864 Affidavit of support section 213A. Cost $ 120 each
3) I - 693 Report of medical examination and vaccination record. No fees for the application itself. Estimated cost of doctor's visit, $75 each
4) I - 765 work permit. Cost $ 410 each. However, if file together with form I-485 there’s no cost.
5) I -131 Travel documents. Cost $ 575, each if file together with form I -485 there’s no cost. Each
Total cost for all forms + doctor's visits (applications) $4800. If we are able to file them together and have any funds left over, these will be used to cover our lawyers fee for the court case.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!
Sincerely,
The Thompson Family
Click the links below to hear more of our story:
WHYY
The Inquirer
My husband, Clive, and I started our family in Jamaica, but after gang members killed my brother and threatened our lives, we took our 4 children and fled to the United States 15 years ago. We filed for asylum and received work permits. Over the past 15 years, we have worked, advanced our education, and sent our children to college. Our children did not qualify for financial aid, so we worked hard to pay for their education. On top of working, I went to school and now work as a nurse assistant. My husband Clive works as a machine operator. Over the years, we saved and scraped together enough money to buy our own home. Our home is the heart of our family - it's where we cook, where we eat, where I wake up to the smiles of my children, where we are together as a family. It means everything to us. But because of the extremist policies of this Administration, we have had to leave that home, leave our freedom, and take Sanctuary in a church.
Freedom is what my family and I have been longing for! It’s been 1 long year and 2 months living behind these brick walls of the church. Nevertheless, we will keep the faith, and fight going. We don’t want to be deported.
I will never forget when I listened to the message from ICE on August 24, 2018. They told me that my husband and I had to come in for deportation the following week. My heart was racing, and all I could think about was my family being torn apart and that we would be killed if we went back to Jamaica. As parents, Clive and I will fight to the end to keep our family together. We asked the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia for help, and decided to enter Sanctuary. We had to leave our home, both our jobs, our kids' schools, and our friends behind. We are now living in a church in Germantown. We cannot leave the church for fear of being arrested. We enter Sanctuary not only to stop our deportation, but to challenge immigration laws that tear hundreds of thousands of families apart. We enter Sanctuary to call attention to these laws that are immoral, unjust, and are hurting people all over the country. We enter Sanctuary to call for compassionate and just immigration laws.
We have faith that we will win this, that justice will prevail, and we will return to our home as a family again. But we can only do it with your help. UPDATE: Five months ago, June 13th, 2019 to be exact, our daughter became a US citizen and filed petitions I-130 for husband Clive and I. This is the first step and once approved, will help both of us adjust status to that of permanent resident. We will need to file some additional forms to complete that process.
Here is the name and cost for each forms (application):
1) I -485 Application to Register permanent resident. Cost $ 1225 each
2) I -864 Affidavit of support section 213A. Cost $ 120 each
3) I - 693 Report of medical examination and vaccination record. No fees for the application itself. Estimated cost of doctor's visit, $75 each
4) I - 765 work permit. Cost $ 410 each. However, if file together with form I-485 there’s no cost.
5) I -131 Travel documents. Cost $ 575, each if file together with form I -485 there’s no cost. Each
Total cost for all forms + doctor's visits (applications) $4800. If we are able to file them together and have any funds left over, these will be used to cover our lawyers fee for the court case.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!
Sincerely,
The Thompson Family
Click the links below to hear more of our story:
WHYY
The Inquirer
Organizer
Oneita Thompson
Organizer
Philadelphia, PA
