On Thursday, January 15th, during his routine supplies run for his food stand, my father in law Pedro Martinez Cortes was abducted by ICE officers.

My name is Gabi, and in March of 2020, the Martinez family welcomed me into their home even though I had only been dating their eldest son for 2 months.

Pedro settled in this same apartment in 1998 when he was 26, and has been working everyday, multiple jobs even, to support his family. Even just last Thursday, now age 53, he was getting ready to work another double to support his two young adult children (Aron Martinez, 18. Stephany Martinez, 20) so they can commit to their college studies, an opportunity he was not able to pursue.

Without their father, Stephany, Aron, and Alan are losing practically all the family they’ve ever known; they've never met any of their distant relatives. Stephany and Aron are losing their support system, the backbone of their family, the very man who lives to see them succeed.

They won’t be able to stay in their home for much longer and will most likely have to shift focus from their education in order to get back on their feet.

The cost to open the case to get back Pedro is $2,500, and $8,000 for the attorney. And so that Stephany and Aron don’t have to break into their school savings, contributing to their rent for the next 3 months ($4,500) would be extremely helpful.

If you’ve read our situation but you can’t contribute, sharing is just as appreciated.

Be cautious out there.