Hello, my name's Evany Rodriguez, I'm a freshman student at the University of Pittsburgh, and I'm starting this GoFundMe to raise money for my family and myself after my father, Eduardo Herrera de Leon, was detained by ICE while signing paperwork at an immigration center in Philadelphia; he had his working permit here and was working towards fully completing his citizenship, and despite that fact he was still detained. He was transferred to a private detention center where he never got a true trial through public judiciaries and where his officer was the one to finalize his verdict of deportation.

My father has always been the heart of our family and an outstanding community member, working tirelessly to provide for me, my mom, and my little sister. Now, with him gone, my mom, who is suffering from medical complications, is suddenly left to care for us on her own, and we are struggling to afford even the basics. I’m currently a college student trying to stay in school while helping at home, but things like food, housing and tuition have become overwhelming; on top of it, we are also trying to afford legal help to see if there are any last chances for him to stay here with us. Any support you can offer would help us keep going through this incredibly difficult time, to make sure my sister and I have what we need, and to give my mom a bit of relief with groceries, rent, utilities, and my tuition as she holds our family together. This was something I hesitated on sharing, the most vulnerable I have ever felt, and thought it would be best to just work through it, but it truly has not gotten better. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading, sharing, and supporting us.