In 2023, J (father) and S (mother) fled violence and starvation in Venezuela, walking across the continent, carrying their 8-year-old daughter on their backs through the jungle of the Darien Gap, seeking to build a new life in the U.S. They are a wonderful couple who have been working incredibly hard to support their family, including their second child, a 10-month-old daughter born this year. I got to know them when their daughter went to school with my kids in Brooklyn and a community of parents in our school banded together to help them and other families find housing. J and S lived with my family for a month while they got on their feet. They are so kind and hardworking. J woke up early every morning and worked late into the evening, doing anything he could to scrape together enough money to support his family.

Despite having a pending asylum claim, which means their presence in this country is legal, J was illegally profiled and detained by ICE a few days before Thanksgiving. A qualified immigration attorney confirmed that his arrest and detention are clearly illegal.

While we were initially hoping to fundraise to bring a court case against his illegal detention, J asked us not to spend any money on getting him released, instead accepting to be deported back to Venezuela and asking that we help his wife and children get by without him and eventually safely join him there.

We are heartbroken that they are unable to stay in this country, but they feel like their only remaining option is to return to Venezuela. This presents new challenges. With the U.S. government threatening to go to war with Venezuela and President Trump declaring the country’s airspace closed, it remains unclear when J will be deported back, and how his wife and children will be able to safely join him there. S is now the sole caregiver to her two children (ages 10 years and 10 months), and with J behind bars indefinitely, she has no income to support them.

We are seeking to raise $10,000 to help S pay for food, rent and necessities, and to ensure she is able to travel safely back to Venezuela and reunite her family. We hope you can find it in your hearts to support this hardworking, wonderful family.