Judea's College Scholarship fund
Donation protected
I am writing on behalf of a past student of mine, Judea DeMaris. Judea graduated from Becker High School in the spring of 2016 and is currently a student at St. Cloud State University.
About the time Judea was getting ready for high school graduation, it came to my attention, as well as the attention of several other adults in Judea’s life, that her upbringing as an adoptee from Haiti had not been easy. She believes she was between 1 ½ and 2 ½ years old when she, along with two older brothers, were supposedly adopted by an American couple and brought to the U.S. Throughout her upbringing, she has experienced neglect and emotional abuse by her adoptive parents.
When each of Judea’s brothers turned eighteen, they were kicked out of the house and the family moved each time to a different school district in Minnesota. Judea has had almost no contact with her brothers since. Like her brothers, Judea was kicked out of the house a few days after her eighteenth birthday in April of 2016 before she had even graduated.
The good news is that she was taken in by the family of her good friend. I know the family well and have been discussing Judea’s situation with them. They have enveloped Judea with love and support. Judea calls the parents of this family “Mom and Dad.” They have made it clear to Judea that their home is her home for as long as she wants it to be. They are already helping her with her much-needed healing process. Her adoptive parents now refuse to even speak with her. The Lovens thought they could avoid further contact with the adoptive parents by going to St. Cloud State and accessing Judea’s records there from FAFSA to get her financial aid going and to help her enroll in classes for the fall.
That’s when the real truth came out. Since Judea was told she couldn’t get access to her financial aid without a citizenship record or birth certificate, the Lovens began to check with all possible agencies: all counties in which she had lived, all three school districts Judea attended, and, finally, the adoption agency her parents used. NONE had any record of Judea whatsoever. The social security number used for Judea on her FAFSA application seems legit, but Judea has no card and no proof/record of her birth, adoption, or citizenship. Worse yet, the adoption agency says they have no record of Judea, and, even though they have a record of her brothers, Judea's adoptive parents never finalized the adoption of the brothers. We can assume they never finalized Judea’s adoption either, if they ever even began an adoption process for her in the first place. How the adoption agency let this fall through the cracks, I do not know. A woman at Sherburne County, who has worked with adoption and citizenship records for over twenty years, said that she has never seen anything like this. Judea doesn’t exist on paper…and she is scared. The Lovens have exhausted all angles they could try and can't get her citizenship officially recognized.
An immigration attorney the Lovens contacted has recently been giving them free legal advice, but the unraveling the paper trail is taking months and months. Since Judea cannot access financial aid, student loans, or scholarships without proper paperwork, the Lovens enlisted the help of the area Lions Club for tuition assistance for fall semester at SCSU so Judea could at least begin college and feel hope. She also is struggling to find a way to get a job, since she has no driver’s license or paperwork. She has no money and no belongings other than what the Loven family is providing for her. They are her rock, and they assure her every day that their home is her home. However, the Lions money was used for fall tuition and the paper trail goes on, with Judea held in limbo. The Lovens could only afford one class for spring semester, which Judea is currently taking.
I am writing to you for help. Judea is a victim. She is blameless. There must be something we can do. I am suspecting that Judea’s adoptive parents kept her from getting a driver’s license and applying for jobs because they knew they didn’t have legal guardianship of her or proper records for her, and I think it is going to take the fear of arrest to make this strange couple act or even speak. We just don’t want Judea hurt in the process.
Therefore, I have helped Judea and the Lovens set up a GoFundMe page in hopes that as many of you as possible decide to help fund Judea's education. I don't want this bright, sweet, innocent girl to be held back any longer. Please help today.
Jan Lefebvre
High School Teacher
Becker Schools
About the time Judea was getting ready for high school graduation, it came to my attention, as well as the attention of several other adults in Judea’s life, that her upbringing as an adoptee from Haiti had not been easy. She believes she was between 1 ½ and 2 ½ years old when she, along with two older brothers, were supposedly adopted by an American couple and brought to the U.S. Throughout her upbringing, she has experienced neglect and emotional abuse by her adoptive parents.
When each of Judea’s brothers turned eighteen, they were kicked out of the house and the family moved each time to a different school district in Minnesota. Judea has had almost no contact with her brothers since. Like her brothers, Judea was kicked out of the house a few days after her eighteenth birthday in April of 2016 before she had even graduated.
The good news is that she was taken in by the family of her good friend. I know the family well and have been discussing Judea’s situation with them. They have enveloped Judea with love and support. Judea calls the parents of this family “Mom and Dad.” They have made it clear to Judea that their home is her home for as long as she wants it to be. They are already helping her with her much-needed healing process. Her adoptive parents now refuse to even speak with her. The Lovens thought they could avoid further contact with the adoptive parents by going to St. Cloud State and accessing Judea’s records there from FAFSA to get her financial aid going and to help her enroll in classes for the fall.
That’s when the real truth came out. Since Judea was told she couldn’t get access to her financial aid without a citizenship record or birth certificate, the Lovens began to check with all possible agencies: all counties in which she had lived, all three school districts Judea attended, and, finally, the adoption agency her parents used. NONE had any record of Judea whatsoever. The social security number used for Judea on her FAFSA application seems legit, but Judea has no card and no proof/record of her birth, adoption, or citizenship. Worse yet, the adoption agency says they have no record of Judea, and, even though they have a record of her brothers, Judea's adoptive parents never finalized the adoption of the brothers. We can assume they never finalized Judea’s adoption either, if they ever even began an adoption process for her in the first place. How the adoption agency let this fall through the cracks, I do not know. A woman at Sherburne County, who has worked with adoption and citizenship records for over twenty years, said that she has never seen anything like this. Judea doesn’t exist on paper…and she is scared. The Lovens have exhausted all angles they could try and can't get her citizenship officially recognized.
An immigration attorney the Lovens contacted has recently been giving them free legal advice, but the unraveling the paper trail is taking months and months. Since Judea cannot access financial aid, student loans, or scholarships without proper paperwork, the Lovens enlisted the help of the area Lions Club for tuition assistance for fall semester at SCSU so Judea could at least begin college and feel hope. She also is struggling to find a way to get a job, since she has no driver’s license or paperwork. She has no money and no belongings other than what the Loven family is providing for her. They are her rock, and they assure her every day that their home is her home. However, the Lions money was used for fall tuition and the paper trail goes on, with Judea held in limbo. The Lovens could only afford one class for spring semester, which Judea is currently taking.
I am writing to you for help. Judea is a victim. She is blameless. There must be something we can do. I am suspecting that Judea’s adoptive parents kept her from getting a driver’s license and applying for jobs because they knew they didn’t have legal guardianship of her or proper records for her, and I think it is going to take the fear of arrest to make this strange couple act or even speak. We just don’t want Judea hurt in the process.
Therefore, I have helped Judea and the Lovens set up a GoFundMe page in hopes that as many of you as possible decide to help fund Judea's education. I don't want this bright, sweet, innocent girl to be held back any longer. Please help today.
Jan Lefebvre
High School Teacher
Becker Schools
Organizer and beneficiary
Judea DeMaris
Organizer
Clear Lake, MN
Molly Loven
Beneficiary