Three of my children’s biological mother is facing an unimaginable crisis. She was recently detained by ICE and now faces deportation to a country she has never set foot in.

Her story is one of profound resilience. Her family escaped the killing fields and genocide in Cambodia. She was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and came to the United States as a baby. She is a lawful permanent resident, but she does not hold citizenship anywhere else. The United States is the only home she has ever known.

She is a mother to four children and a grandmother to a one-year-old. She is the heart of a large, loving family and her local Khmer-American community.

I will be honest: we have had our differences, especially during the years I helped raise her children. But I have never doubted her love for them, or their love for her. Despite our past, I am now committed to doing whatever it takes to keep her here and keep this family whole.

Keeping families together became my life's mission after witnessing how the tearing apart of Khmer families has caused unbearable, generational trauma. She has already endured unimaginable hardship. We must prevent more.

Her court date is set for December 31, 2025. Time is running out. Pro-bono legal organizations have been unable to help in time, and her complex case requires an experienced, dedicated immigration attorney. Her children are overwhelmed, and the entire family is living in fear of a devastating loss.

We are turning to our community for help.

All funds raised will go directly to our shared oldest daughter, Khmery, who will use them exclusively to hire an immigration attorney, cover urgent legal fees, and on any expense related to the case.

Your contribution can literally change the course of this family’s future. Please consider donating whatever you can and sharing this fundraiser widely. Together, we can fight to keep a family together and protect a mother, grandmother, and survivor in the only home she knows.