Help Carolina Appeal Her Asylum Case

Hello everyone. I would like to introduce you to an important part of our local immigrant community. Her name is Carolina and she came to the United States with her 10-year-old son at the end of 2018. For all intents and purposes, she's done everything right in order to be here legally. Upon arriving, she immediately presented herself and her son to border patrol to ask for asylum. She has kept all of her immigration appointments for the 6 and 1/2 years that she has lived here. She has another son who lives with her mom in Guatemala, to whom she sends money so that he can continue to go to school. Her sole concern is her children and that they are able to do well in life.

Carolina works full-time in commercial maintenance at a hotel. If you were to ask her co-workers about her, they would tell you that she is always very happy and kind, and she is always doing her best to help her family. She has a great understanding of English, and her speaking skills are improving every day. Her son Andy is a good student and an excellent soccer player. He plays on the varsity soccer team at school. He also has a part-time job at a fast food restaurant. Carolina originally left Guatemala with her son due to the threat of violence against them and the undue impact that had on their lives. She would like to be able to stay here and have her sons succeed instead of being sent back to her home country where her life would be, at best, untenable.

Recently, Carolina's asylum claim was just denied after nearly 7 years of her doing all of the right things. Her lawyer is willing to appeal the case, but asylum cases are complicated. It's time consuming and difficult to obtain evidence to support claims from home countries, and it requires a knowledgeable attorney to put in many hours of work. To that end, Carolina needs to raise money to pay for her lawyer so that he can appeal her case. Here is what Carolina has to say in her own words:

"Hello, my name is Carolina Ramos Garrillo. I'm raising funds to pay for my lawyer's appeals. I am appealing an immigration case. I've been doing things right with the law. I pay my taxes. I'm doing everything right. But now I have a problem: I have to pay a lot of money for a lawyer. To be here, to all the kind-hearted people who want to help me, thank you. May God bless you. I have a sixteen-year-old son named Andi (Andy), and I motivate him every day to continue fighting in this country. We have fought for everyone and we will continue fighting."

This will be an ongoing fight, but Carolina and her sons deserve the stability and safety that she has fought so hard for. We promise that as part of the "American Dream", so now we need to help show Carolina that she's not alone.

Thank you so much for reading about Carolina and her situation, and for considering donating to the cause. We will do our best to keep you updated along the way.