Help Us Keep Our Family Together

Our family is going through something I never imagined I would experience, and asking for help in this way is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

My husband’s name is Orlais. He is energetic, social, incredibly hardworking, and has a laugh that is impossible not to smile at. He loves music and dancing, and he is the kind of person who is happiest when he is doing something for the people he loves.

He gets up at 5:00 every morning to go work in concrete. He takes enormous pride in being able to provide for his family. On weekends, when many people would want to rest after a long week of physical labor, he’ll get up and wash our cars, work in the yard, or climb up to clean our roof.

He also takes wonderful care of my aging mother. He doesn’t do these things because anyone asks him to. Taking care of his family is simply part of who he is.

Orlais has been living in the United States lawfully and has spent the years we’ve been together working hard, building a life, and pursuing permanent residency. He has always wanted to build a stable future here so that my mother can retire, and our future children can be well taken care of.

This month, we were supposed to be preparing to celebrate our third wedding anniversary, as well as my pregnancy with our first child.

Instead, our family was suddenly separated on August second of this year.

Orlais is currently detained while we navigate his immigration case.

Growing up as an American citizen, there are certain things you don’t realize you take for granted. You grow up believing that if you work hard, follow the rules, take care of your family, and live your life, your family is safe. You don’t imagine what it would feel like to have someone you love taken away from you and realize that, because they aren’t a citizen, you have very little power to stop it.

I never understood how completely world-shattering that feeling could be until it happened to me.

And it happened at a time when we were supposed to be preparing for the most important moment of our lives.

I am pregnant with our first child, our little boy. Even before our baby could possibly hear him, Orlais was talking to my belly. He has been so excited to become a father.

Now he is missing the things we were supposed to experience together.

He has missed feeling our baby’s first movements. He has missed coming with me to my doctor’s appointments. He worries constantly that he will miss the birth of his son. More than anything, he is afraid that he could be deported and have to spend any amount of time separated from his wife and child while we struggle with his loss and finances here.

That fear is heartbreaking because he isn’t asking for anything extravagant. He wants to be here. He wants to work. He wants to take care of his family. He wants to meet his son, hold him, and give him the kind of opportunities that come from growing up in the country Orlais has worked so hard to make his home.

He is also devastated knowing that my mother and I are now having to handle everything on our own—financially, physically, and emotionally—while I am pregnant.

Before this happened, Orlais and I shared the responsibility of supporting our household. Now I am trying to keep everything together without his income.

I currently bring home approximately $2,300 a month. The expenses I’ve accounted for total approximately $2,940 each month, and that is before fuel, medical expenses, and the additional costs that come with preparing for our baby. I do have health insurance that is covering much of the prenatal care and delivery, but I still am left with a balance of around 3,000.

We also have an immediate legal expense as we continue working with our attorney on Orlais’s case. We have already paid 3,500, but still owe 5,500.

My husband especially likes to take care of things himself, so I never expected that I would be asking strangers for help. But right now, we need to put pride and shame aside and ask for support.

Our goal is $10,000.

The money raised will help us pay the immediate legal expense, keep our essential household obligations current while Orlais is unable to work, and allow me to continue preparing for our baby’s arrival without falling further behind.

Most importantly, it will give our family some breathing room while we fight for the chance to be together again.

If you are able to donate, whether it is $10 or $100, please know that you are helping a pregnant mother keep her household standing and helping a father get one step closer to being home with his wife and son.

And if you cannot donate, sharing this fundraiser is just as meaningful. Please help us get our story in front of people who may be able to help.

We don’t know exactly what the coming weeks will bring. We only know that we love each other, that we want to be together, and that we are doing everything we can to keep our family intact.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story, for caring about our family, and for standing with us during one of the most frightening and uncertain periods of our lives.

With love,

Kayla, Orlais & our little boy ❤️