Support Handrick's Dream for Freedom

You know that feeling you get when you meet someone and you connect instantly? That’s how I felt when I met Handrick in December of 2022. He was dating my good friend Zach when I first met him. Handrick is from Cuba. He is charming and sassy and smart and funny and charismatic. And he is huge Beyonce fan. Zach and Handrick got married in February of 2024. They live together in West St. Paul with their two dogs, Ruby & Frieda.

Handrick came here from Cuba in 2022. He left Cuba because of not having a voice, no access to a solid future with a decent income, oppression, he was not free as everything is regulated by the government. Cuba is a one-party communist state that outlaws political pluralism, bans independent media, and restricts civil liberties. Handrick came to the U.S.A. to live freely and create a better life for himself. Since 2020, over a million Cubans have fled the island in search of a better life. Of those, 280,000 found their way to the USA, Handrick among them.

Handrick is a hard worker and works [as a landscaper] in part to help support his family back in Cuba. The people of Cuba are often without power and food and live a life that most of us cannot imagine.

Are you worried feeling unsettled after the most recent presidential election? Imagine if you were here and not a citizen and you heard stories in the news every day about the looming mass deportations of illegal aliens. Imagine the fear you might feel if you were a gay, black, immigrant. The fear is real. This is why I am asking for your help. Handrick would love to stay in the U.S.A. and keep the freedom he has here and become a citizen. He wants to enjoy the life he is building with his husband Zach and their dogs. He wants to keep working to help his family back home in Cuba.

This Go Fund Me is to raise money to help pay for an immigration lawyer for Handrick. Handrick has applied for residence and is working toward gaining citizenship. Handrick and Zach have met with a lawyer, but they are looking at legal fees and court costs amounting to no less than $12,000. Please donate whatever you can to help these two keep their family together.