We are fundraising for our dad/husband/grandpa and his legal battle to maintain his residence here in the United States. He was taken by ICE agents in an unmarked vehicle Thursday morning at 5:30 AM. There was no warrant for his arrest. He was simply taken. This journey has been hard on the family, as these ICE Detention Centers are ran like prisons but are much less organized- we often don't know where Luis is located, if he is safe, if/where he is being transferred, what conditions he is under, and the threat of immediate deportation is very real even though he has opted to fight this case through the courts. He has been transferred from Fresno to out of town the same day he was taken, and almost a full day later he has not been settled into a cell yet. Contact is rare and the uncertainty between every phone call makes us think the worst.

The ICE agents that took him & processed him have been very brazen; comments like "We've been hunting you for weeks, just didn't catch you yet" and "we don't have a warrant, we were just working on a tip someone put in about you". Once detained, ICE agents were walking around bragging and joking, asking one another, "How many did you catch today?". Hearing these firsthand accounts of the cruelty and indecency from Luis are disheartening, but he ends every call with one reassurance: we're going to keep fighting, and this won't be forever.

Luis has a wife, Sarah, who he has been in love with since 1998. He has a daughter and son in law Elaina & Javier, who gave him three grandchildren. He has a son and daughter in law Louie & Sharon, who gave him one granddaughter. He has a preteen named Jacob and a little girl named Sophia, who are still in elementary school. His family deserves to have him back. Luis has lived in the Central Valley since he was five years old.

Mexico was his birthplace but Fresno is his home.

We all have loved ones who risk ICE detainment everyday. This isn't something we wish on our worst enemy. To know Luis is to have met a man's man, a loving protector, and a godly man who has made mistakes in his life but has tried to make his life better and everyone around him smile.

ANYTHING HELPS. We are eternally grateful to anyone that loves us enough to help out. Some of the costs will be the prospective attorney fees, commissary funds to make sure he can make calls and send messages, possible bail/bond fees (we are very early in this fight so nothing is for sure yet), visits to check on his physical wellness, and other needs he may have while detained for this unknown period of time. Weeks, months, years, we don't know what this process entails- but Luis made a promise that he is going to fight it this time and refuses to ever be on the run.

He was the sole provider for his wife and two young children. Without knowing how long he will be gone for, everyone's future and wellbeing is hanging on an uneven balance. If you guys cannot give money, we also will be hosting fundraisers soon. Please reach out to us for any questions. We love you guys.