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.

UPDATE

A Shift in Legal Help, The Search for Samoeuth, and Why Your Support Still Matters

To our beloved community of supporters,

First and foremost, we thank you. Your generosity has been nothing short of a lifeline. It allowed us to hire an attorney in the 11th hour who was able to step in when Samoeuth was shockingly prevented from attending her own virtual court hearing. Because of you, she was not left without advocacy.

We have an important update on her legal representation and situation, which has taken several difficult turns.

1. A Change in Legal Representation:

We have been incredibly fortunate to connect with a new immigration attorney who has agreed to take over Samoeuth’s case pro bono (at no cost). This is a huge blessing. The funds you have already donated covered our initial legal expenses and costs to maintain contact with Samoeuth. We still have a portion of these funds remaining, which leads us to our next urgent need.

2. The Critical and Unpredictable Bond Hearing:

Our new attorney is preparing to request a bond hearing. After listening to other bond cases in the same court, we have seen how unpredictable and severe the outcomes can be; people have been denied bond for minor traffic incidents or had exorbitant bonds set for bureaucratic misunderstandings. We do not yet know if Samoeuth will be granted bond, or what amount might be set. We are hoping for mercy, but must be prepared for any outcome. Your remaining donations are being held in reserve specifically for this potential bond cost.

3. An Urgent and Distressing Development:

In a deeply unsettling turn, Samoeuth has been moved from the Cumberland County Jail in Portland, Maine. All detainees were reportedly transferred to make room for more. At this moment, we do not know her location. We are actively trying to locate her so she can contact her family and legal team. This sudden disappearance has added another layer of trauma and anxiety for her children and all of us.

4. Why We Are Keeping the Fundraiser Open:

Given these uncertainties, we are keeping the fundraiser active for several critical reasons:

· Potential Bond: To cover an unknown bond amount if it is granted.

· Travel and Visits: For possible family or legal visits if she is located far away.

· Basic Necessities: For phone credit, commissary, and medical needs while she is detained.

· The Unthinkable: To have resources to support her if, in the worst-case scenario, she is deported and must start a new life in a country she has never known.

A Personal Request:

We have received a handful of very hurtful and rude messages through this platform. To those sending them: please imagine if this was your mother, your sister, or your loved one. If you have nothing supportive to say, we kindly ask that you say nothing at all. This journey is hard enough without cruelty.

For the overwhelming majority of you who have shown nothing but compassion, thank you. You have carried us through impossible days. We are on a difficult path, but we walk it with hope because of you.

Please continue to share Samoeuth’s story. We will update you as soon as we locate her and have news from her attorney.

With profound gratitude and resilience,

Samoeuth’s Family and Support Team

Ps. See Updates for the most current information

UPDATE

A Complicated Journey & An Update on Samoeuth's Case

To our incredible community,

First and foremost, we want to say thank you. From the very bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who has donated and shared our fundraiser. We are so humbled by your generosity and kindness. It truly means the world to us.

I’m sorry it took so long to share an update. These cases get incredibly complicated, especially as people are moved from facility to facility. It makes everything harder and often moves detainees far from their family, or they get lost in the system for days at a time during a transfer. As many of you know, her journey has been a whirlwind: she went from Burlington to Maine, back to Burlington, then to Rhode Island, and then to what we thought would be Texas, but she was eventually found in a detention center in Arizona. Being so far from all her children and loved ones has been devastating for all of us.

As for the legal case, I want to share where things stand using the latest from our lawyer, in my own words.

Recently, a decision was made to withdraw the application for protection under the Convention Against Torture, which has resulted in an order for her removal. However, this order is not final. We have a 30-day window to file an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals. The most important thing to know right now is that she cannot be deported as long as this appeal is pending.

We are appealing the Immigration Judge’s decision. Our argument is that she is not deportable and should be able to keep her green card, because we will argue that she doesn't have what is called an "aggravated conviction."

We made the difficult choice to withdraw the protection application because pursuing it could have placed her in danger of being deported to a third country, which would be the absolute worst outcome. We’ve seen how many of these cases go, and while it isn’t looking like it’s in our favor, we are doing everything we can to stop the deportation. Being deported to Cambodia, where she knows the culture and language, and where she will soon be met by her best friend who has chosen to retire there, is a far better outcome than being sent to an unknown third country.

Please stand with us, not only for Samoeuth, but against the deportation of all protected refugees, Southeast Asians, and any person being wrongfully stripped away from their family.

Your donations are being used with so much care. They will go toward keeping her comfortable and in communication with her loved ones during this isolating time, covering any extra legal steps we have to take to fight the removal, and in the worst-case scenario helping her have enough funds to start a new life in a country she has never known.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

With love and gratitude,

Team Samoeuth Som

(Jamie, Khmery, Laura, Eric, Somnang, Khamoly, Jordan, Jesiah, and other friends and family)