Help Reunited Mom & Child Rebuild

UPDATE: Thank you to all who helped us exceed our goal! These contributions will ensure that  Ms. L and her daughter receive the assistance that they need, including legal assistance, medical, dental, and mental health care, ESL, tutoring, and education, job preparedness, financial literacy, and more. They will have the financial resources they need to move forward with their lives.

Ms. L's story has haunted me since it was first brought to my attention. In an attempt to save herself and her 6-year-old daughter from persecution, Ms. L fled the Congo and arrived in the U.S. near San Diego in early November 2017. After passing a preliminary asylum interview, she and her daughter should have been allowed to pursue protection in the United States together, but immigration authorities locked Ms. L in a detention center and took away her daughter, flying her 2,000 miles away to Chicago. As a mother of two young children, I cannot begin to imagine the fear and harm of being separated from my children, especially in a foreign land and after enduring trauma in my home country. The two were separated for more than four months before finally being reunited thanks to an ACLU lawsuit. They are currently residing in a shelter for formerly detained immigrants in Chicago. The Chicago-based National Immigrant Justice Center identified pro bono attorneys and Ms. L and her daughter are now fighting their case before the immigration court. I am asking you to contribute to this fund so Ms. L and her daughter can begin setting up a new life in the United States. What happened to them on American soil is not ok. After enduring fear, flight and a cruel and unnecessary separation they need our help.

You can read more in depth about Ms. L's story here as written by Rex Huppke of the Chicago Tribune.

My name is Kelly Cervantes and I live in Chicago, IL. I have no personal relation to Ms. L but through my volunteer work with the ACLU of Illinois her story was brought to my attention along with her need for financial resources. The funds raised will be transferred to the shelter where Ms. L and her daughter are currently residing and will be used to help cover legal assistance, medical, dental, and mental health care, ESL, tutoring, and education, job preparedness, financial literacy, and more. They have a long road ahead of them but with your help we can ensure they have a strong foundation as they begin this next chapter of their lives in Chicago.

Thank you!