Why We’re Asking for Your Urgent Help

S.R.C. is a United States citizen, born and raised in Massachusetts. She has never lived outside the United States, speaks only English, and has significant medical, emotional, and educational needs that require consistent, trauma-informed care.

S.R.C.’s mother was fifteen years old at the time of her birth and was unable to care for her daughter. Her biological father was an adult who was undocumented at the time of conception and was deported to Guatemala shortly thereafter. He has never lived with S.R.C., never had custody of her, and did not contribute to her care.

Since there were no fit parents able to care for S.R.C. early on in her life, she has been in foster care since she was a toddler. Her medical, emotional, and educational needs have required consistent oversight and care provided through the Commonwealth.

After many years in foster care, S.R.C.'s Biological dad subsequently re-entered the country briefly as an undocumented immigrant, but was again deported in 2024. Because biological dad never had custody or caregiving responsibility for this child, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) has never fully investigated allegations of abuse or neglect against him.

Despite these facts, DCF is now preparing to administratively expel S.R.C., a United States citizen child, from the United States and forcibly remove her to Guatemala. DCF proposes to send her to live with her biological father, a man she does not know, who does not speak her language, and who has never parented her.

S.R.C. has no legal status, citizenship, or recognized right of residence in Guatemala, and no court has issued a lawful custody order conferring jurisdiction on that country or placing her under the care of a governmental agency that would provide oversight, services, or protection with her welfare as paramount.

S.R.C.'s Life Could Be Changed Forever Tomorrow

Our legal team is working hard in Federal Court to stop DCF from violating the constitutional rights of children in foster care by quietly removing US Citizen children to foreign countries without Federal oversight and protection for those children. We believe DCF should protect American kids like S.R.C. from dangerous removals, but DCF should also be held accountable when they don't.

DCF could put S.R.C. on a plane to Guatemala as early as tomorrow, but this is not just about S.R.C. This is about all the invisible and forgotten American kids who DCF puts on a plane and sends out of the country without any accountability for the fate of those children or the consequences of DCF's failed system.

But we can't do this alone.

We need your help to raise $25,000 immediately to cover our current legal expenses. Our long term goal is to raise at least $100,000 to ensure this case can be properly litigated at every phase to ensure that the rights of American kids in foster care are protected.

Anything you can give helps. No donation is too small. Every gift is a sign that someone cares about these kids, who basically need us to stand up for them.

Use of Funds:

All donations raised through this GoFundMe will be disbursed directly to the law firm of Conn Kavanaugh, where Attorney Kirsten Zwicker, Esq. is providing legal representation for the co-plaintiffs standing in as next friends for S.R.C., the 8-year-old U.S. citizen and minor at the center of this case.

Because S.R.C. is a minor, she cannot bring this federal civil rights action on her own. As a result, she is represented by trusted adults acting as next friends, and the attorney working on her behalf is Kirsten Zwicker, Esq. of Conn Kavanaugh.

Joanne Walsh, Director of Finance at the law firm, is the designated recipient of funds within the firm’s billing and financial system, but she is not involved in the legal representation of the case. Her role is strictly administrative, ensuring that funds are routed properly to cover the legal costs associated with this case.

This structure ensures that all funds go directly to the legal expenses involved in representing S.R.C. in federal court, including appeals, filings, and advocacy related to her constitutional rights.

Thank you for your support!