This will be long, so please bare with me!

On Thursday, August 21st, my husband (Jose) and father-in-law (Miguel) were sadly detained by ICE. They got pulled over after leaving their workplace due to an issue with my husband’s trailer. The officer immediately racially profiled everyone in the truck (my husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law), who are all Mexican. Despite the driver, my father-in-law, having a license, he started asking everyone about citizenship.

Unfortunately, Jose and Miguel don’t have the advantage of being born in the US, so they were detained without incident.

This GoFundMe is being made to help offset the lawyer fees, immigration court fees, to help put money on their books, and obtaining Jose’s birth certificate.

Jose was brought here when he was 1 year old, from Guanajuato, Mexico. He grew up and spent his whole life in Emory, Texas. He has all of his shot records here, school transcripts, and so forth. Jose could have qualified for DACA, but unfortunately, my mother-in-law was never able to get him a Mexican birth certificate made, thus making him unable to get DACA. Jose’s whole life, he thought he was a US citizen. It wasn’t until he was at the age in high school where all of his friends were getting their driver’s licenses, and he was unable to do so. He has worked the only job he’s ever known since he was 14, carports & metal buildings, etc.

He and his dad are two of the MOST hardworking men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting in my life. They each work more than 2, maybe 3 people combined. They travel all over Texas and its neighboring states, working 14+ hour days in 100+ degree weather. When they’re not working, they’re at home spending time with family and resting. They are family men who have always done anything they can to help anybody out. They will literally give you the shirt off their back if it meant it would help put you in a better position.

Jose and I have 3 beautiful children together, who he loves so much. He takes such pride in being a dad, and he really enjoys fatherhood. He’s the best husband and is so patient and loving, even when I might not deserve it. It has been such a treasure to watch Jose grow as a man, a father, and a husband.

Miguel came here when he was 16 years old, also from Guanajuato, Mexico. All of his family is here, and his father recently got citizenship. Miguel was next for his citizenship as well; he just needs to finish paying some taxes that he owes. He has 5 beautiful children with my mother-in-law, Daysi. Together, they have 4 beautiful grandchildren that they are so proud of. Miguel is an active father and grandfather and would love nothing more than to come home to his family.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this long post. I tried to make it as short as I could, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew just a little bit about how selfless this father and son duo are.