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Our mom is the strongest woman we know. She’s a mother of five who has always worked tirelessly to care for us, protect us, and give us a better future. She has lived in the United States since 1996 — nearly three decades — and has built her life, her family, and her community here. When she left everything behind, it was to make sure we had opportunities she never had.
She was a taxpayer, never been a criminal, hasn’t had a single traffic ticket, yet she has been treated as if she were one. It breaks our hearts that someone who has always respected the law and contributed to the community was being punished this way.
Now, as a young adult, I’ve put my education and career aspirations aside to step in for mom. Working two jobs and long hours to keep a roof over our heads and financially support our mom. I’ve taken on the responsibility of raising my younger siblings while also managing our family’s finances, paying multiple car payments, insurance, bills, as well as, keeping us together, getting the kids to and from school, working with the attorney, and fighting every day to bring our mom home.
Before she was taken from us, our mom was a deeply loved and active part of our community. She was always the first to show up when someone needed help with food, with kind words, or just her comforting presence. She gave so much of herself without ever expecting anything in return. She is a woman full of love, compassion, strength, and faith.
It breaks our hearts to know that someone so selfless was being treated with such cruelty and neglect.
Since her detention, our world has been turned upside down. The emotional weight and financial burden have been overwhelming. Raising money to cover legal fees, help provide our mom with basic necessities while she was detained, and support our family during this painful and uncertain time.
As of two weeks ago, our mom was wrongfully removed from the country. Weeks before her lawyers made a case to a federal judge to have her released and won. Ecstatic, we drove 4 hours to Iowa to pick her up only for ice to re-detain her right in front of us. My mom went willingly begging us not to argue with the officers worried something bad would happen so we obliged. On the phone with our mother, she explained the horrible things the officers said to her including how “we all were criminals and needed to go back to our country”. Less than 24 hours later, she was in Arizona preparing for a flight to Somalia. We didn’t hear from her for days, worried something happened. However, we received a call from her days later that she was ok but looking for a place to settle and people to help. Thankfully, she has a phone and is safe as of right now. We are constantly sending money back home to help her, as well as, working with the attorney to help bring her back to us.
According to the attorney, this is going to be a 3-10 year long process. This was heartbreaking news to us all as her children will experience life changing moments without her including birthdays, Eid, and graduations. There have been so many tears shed, not knowing when we’ll see her next. Praying everyday she’ll be safe until we do. Our mom doesn’t deserve this. She deserves dignity, safety, and the chance to come back to the children who love and miss her deeply. We miss her every single day, her love, her guidance, her presence. This has been and will be a long painful journey for us. Any contribution, no matter the size, will bring us one step closer to reuniting our family and giving our mom the care and justice she deserves.
If you’re unable to donate, please share this page with others and keep our mom in your prayers and du’as. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support and for standing with us during this incredibly difficult time. With love Qamar and Family