Two years ago, María and Jesús lost their mom to cancer.
Now they are facing the possibility of losing their dad too.
In early September, their father, Adrián, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on his way to work. He is being held in an immigration processing center in Pennsylvania — 1,000 miles from his home and his children.
We are raising money to support María, 12, and Jesús, 14, while their dad is unable to work. Donations will support their family’s expenses and help with the costs of hiring a lawyer to represent Adrián at his upcoming immigration proceedings.
Adrián and his wife, Bartola, came to the United States from México 20 years ago, and both María and Jesús were born in South Georgia. Bartola passed away in 2023 after a long battle with cancer. Since then, Adrián has been the sole provider for his family, taking extra jobs laying asphalt and framing houses.
This summer, Adrián was offered a month-long construction job in Pennsylvania. While driving to their job site on Tuesday, September 2, Adrián and two of his co-workers were arrested by ICE officers during a traffic stop.
First, Adrián was sent to a correctional facility in West Virginia before being transferred to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania.
Donations to this GoFundMe will be used for two purposes:
Covering the cost of an immigration attorney to fight for Adrián’s release:
- Down payment to hire a lawyer: $1,500
- Total legal fees to file for ICE parole: $3,000
- Total legal fees to fight Adrian’s removal: $8,000
Helping pay for the family’s monthly expenses since Adrián is unable to work:
Rent: $850
Utilities (electricity, water, phones, internet): $650
Collect calls from the detention center so that Adrián can talk to his kids: $50
Any additional money raised will go directly to the neighbor caring for María and Jesús to help pay for their food, clothing, and other basic needs.
I am good friends with the neighbor who is caring for Maria and Jesus, and learned about their situation from her. Since then I've been working with a small team of friends to find and hire a lawyer, to raise money to pay the lawyer, and to support Maria and Jesus in any way that we can. Adrian has asked me to manage the funds raised on his behalf. If you have questions, please reach out to me directly at [[email redacted]].
Photo captions:
The top photo is of María with her dad Adrián after a long day of work this past June.
The bottom photo is of Jesús and María with their parents a few days before Bartola passed away in September of 2023.