A father’s world has been shattered with the unthinkable kidnap of his son by ICE. I write a story about a father, a friend, who has lost his son to ICE, and we urgently need your support to get him back.

Our friend has been working in manual labor legally with a work permit in the US for years, sending earnings to his family in Guatemala, his parents, wife, and three children who all struggle with poverty and depend on his earnings to have food. He is a handyman, gardener, and dear friend. We write this for a devastated father who cannot fight back for fear of dooming the rest of his family by being taken as well.

At age 17, his son left his impoverished mountaintop village in Guatemala for the first time, and walked alone to California last year to find his father. He has turned 18 or more now, and he got legal work papers several weeks ago with a lawyer’s help and works as a roofer. He does not speak English, and is naive to navigating systems. He was on his way to work with others by car when they were stopped for a minor traffic violation, and then arrested by masked, armed ICE police and taken away. Just disappeared. Gone.

His father eventually got one phone call days later from his son, upset and scared. His son is in a severely overcrowded and dangerous detention center in Virginia. The lawyer they urgently need in order to find his son and help try to get the son out on bond, wants $10,000, which the father does not have. He is waiting to hear from this lawyer. The Casa de Maryland organization offers legal advice for low cost, but is backed up for weeks or months due to all the immigrant arrests - too late for our beloved boy. More important than just a hard worker with papers, he is a wonderful, sincere, kind, and caring person who is so loved.

Please help us return his son to him. We cannot afford to give him the support he needs, leaving the only option to fundraise. His precious boy only wanted to join his father to further support their family. Whatever you are able to donate, please help us.

Help us get him back.