Hi, my name is Alyn Vicente.

On October 8th, my dad Juan Vicente was detained by ICE. He had simply gone to Lowe’s to pick up materials so he could head to work just like any other day. But as he was walking back to his car, he was suddenly surrounded by ICE agents and taken away.

What makes it even more painful is that this happened on my mom’s birthday. I’ll never forget the moment she walked into my room, tears streaming down her face, because in that instant our whole world collapsed.

My dad is the heart of our family. He is a loving father who worked endlessly to provide for us. He rarely rested, yet every single morning he made sure to take me and my brother to school because he wanted us to have the education and future he never had the chance to pursue.

He has always been my biggest support system not just financially, but emotionally, spiritually, and as a role model. I struggle with depression and anxiety, and this situation has hit me harder than I can describe. There are days where it feels like I’m carrying the weight of the world on my chest.

I pray every day for my dad to come home. It breaks me that this year, he didn’t walk through the door holding my mom’s birthday cake like he has every single year for as long as I can remember.

I’ve always dreamed of graduating high school and college with my dad sitting in the crowd, cheering me on. I still hold onto that hope with everything in me.

My family and I are asking for help to raise money for his lawyer so we can bring him home.