Hello,

My name is Edson and I’m setting this GoFundMe for my wife Liz to help us with the goal of paying the necessary fees associated with petitioning for my wife’s U.S. citizenship. My wife was brought into the U.S. from Mexico when she was only 4 years old. As many people are brought here for the opportunity of seeking a better life and achieving the American dream, she attended school here, learning its history, speaking English, and just living here as most would. But as she got older, things became more complicated. She became a teen mother and was obligated to seek employment to feed her son Julian and get herself and siblings along. Finding work was difficult without a social security number, but as many of us do, she found a way to get by with cash jobs.

Fast forward to now, she and I are married, homeowners in Joliet, and have a wonderful 17-year-old who’s seeking his own dreams. Unfortunately, with today’s political climate and rising tensions around the country regarding immigration, foreign policy, and just the general state of the economy, things feel very unsettling and alarming for people without documentation, as well as making ends meet with the rising cost of living.

My wife has DACA and has been working her own job for years, but just as many other homes with multiple incomes, it’s still only enough to get by. Every year, with changes to immigration policy, it feels like the DACA program has had a target on its back along with its participants, and we don’t want to live being afraid to go outside or participate in events fearing ICE raids. Although it seems unrealistic to some, this is the reality of many immigrants who are “doing things right.” We still feel like targets.

We ask for your help and contribution that’ll go towards our lawyer and application fees that’ll help keep a community leader here, someone who uplifts other Latinos/Latinas and gets the story of their struggle heard at the Flava podcast every Sunday. Liz is a positive influence on social media, at her job, and within her own family. Please help share and contribute to my wife’s cause.

Thank you, sincerely, her loving husband,

Edson Larios