My name is Nikita, although most people refer to me as Nikki. It wasn’t an easy decision choosing to open a fundraiser. My fiancé and I strived to build a successful and happy home without burdening family or friends. We built our home together with hard work, love, and morals. We lived within our means and worked as a team to support our family.

I met my fiancé in 2016. Our relationship was meant to be; we went from growing a close bond at work to becoming best friends that quickly evolved into an unbreakable bonded relationship.

We didn’t have any intentions of having children together as we both had children from previous marriages. To our surprise, 8 years into our relationship, we welcomed our daughter, whom we call the missing puzzle piece to our puzzle. She is only 11 months old as of today.

We share many beautiful blended family memories together. His biological son (13), my biological daughter (11), and son (16).

My fiancé was not born in the United States; he was born in Mexico and was brought to the United States when he was 8. He is, as of today, 42, meaning he’s called the United States his home for 34 years. It’s all he knows. Unfortunately, when you are brought to the United States and are from another country, you’re looked at as a criminal. Immigration laws are strict and unforgiving. He was in the process of becoming a permanent citizen when he unfortunately missed one of his court dates. This is an unforgivable offense in the eyes of immigration courts. There is no rescheduling or being a human and admitting to a mistake and mixing up of days. The error put him into abstentia, an immediate removal order which closed his case. We exhausted our options through appealing, asking forgiveness from the courts. Unfortunately, the only way immigration reopens cases is by proving the court date was missed for a reason that included someone dying, unfathomable circumstances…we simply got the dates mixed up. Human error, but when you are undocumented, you can’t make mistakes.

On April 7th, 2025, my fiancé, the stay-at-home father of my 11-month-old daughter, was detained on an order to remove. He was driven by bus to the border and dumped with only his cell phone that was on 25% and a couple of dollars. He attempted to seek shelter in a safe house within the Mexico border. During this time, neither myself nor his other family knew of his drop-off location due to ICE not releasing that location. He eventually made contact with us, and we arranged for distant family to pick him up. 5 minutes into his ride, the car was forced off the road, and he was kidnapped. Family exhausted all finances to a demanded ransom, fearing he was hurt, being tortured, or already dead.

He was released alive, but the event has caused an existential amount of trauma on the family. I’ve been forced to exhaust PTO and file for FMLA. My fiancé was the roots of our family, and without him, we are struggling emotionally and financially. Our daughter has spent most of her time with her father as he has been the stay-at-home father while I work full-time. His absence in mere days has already caused drastic emotional hardship on myself, his daughter, as well as his stepchildren and biological son.

It is my sole purpose and goal to fight to get my fiancé back to his home where he belongs. The future holds great financial challenges as I’ve held a salaried position that requires 50+ hours away from home. I do not have the means to break even in paying childcare, legal fees, as well as transition into a two-country home.

Any bit helps. Our 11-month-old has been subjected to some very intense emotions during the duration of her father’s untimely deportation and kidnapping. As her mom, I felt it necessary to stay home, losing out on income to ensure her emotional well-being. Funds will be used to help with the home bills as I will most likely not be able to sustain a 50-hour work week, being forced into a lower-paying, more flexible position. Funds will also be used for childcare, legal fees to assist in reentry to reunite my fiancé with his biological and non-biological stepchildren. I also intend to keep my daughter’s relationship with her father; funds could possibly go to periodic travel to visit him in Mexico, a cost I will likely not be able to afford.

Thank you for your support.