Support a family separated by Trump's cruelty

Dear Community,

On Thursday, March 27th, "Alberto" went to the ICE office in Virginia to comply with a letter that he had received the day before telling him he needed to go to the office for them to "issue an updated document." Alberto had followed all of his immigration requirements since entering the United States, so as he has done many times before, he followed the instructions in the letter and presented himself at the ICE office. Instead of issuing a document, ICE detained him and he is now in detention at the Farmville Detention Center in Virginia.

Alberto is the caring father of two boys, the loving husband of his wife Karina, and the main breadwinner for their family. Alberto worked as a driver with a drive-share app, learning English and the roads around his new community as he went. He worked hard, from sun up to sun down to care and provide for his family. And now that he is stuck in a cruel detention center, Karina and her two sons are struggling to make ends meet without his income. Without her husband, Karina now is responsible for paying rent, car insurance, utilities, groceries, plus attorney fees to maintain her family and fight for her husband's release.

The week prior, Alberto had been arrested on his way to work and charged with a federal crime for crossing into the United States over two and a half years ago. Karina and Alberto had previously left their home country of Venezuela to seek safety, security, and a new life here in the U.S.. Since arriving to the United States, Alberto, his wife Karina, and their two boys had applied for asylum, received their work permits, started paying taxes, and began building a new life for their family. Yet, Trump's cruel mass deportation program targeted Alberto for detention despite a federal judge ordering him to be released after his arrest.

Alberto is now stuck in a detention system that prolongs and profits off of his suffering, while his family is left to pick up the pieces in his absence. This is why we need the community to step in and support the family and their fight for their dad's liberation!

Funds receiving from this fundraiser will help Karina pay rent, care for her family and pay for attorney fees for her husband. While she has secured rockstar pro-bono counsel for part of Alberto's case, there are other aspects that she will have to pay for to ensure that her husband has every chance to come back home to his kids.

Karina and Alberto are fighters - not just for their family - but for all the others in their situation who are living in fear and watching their families ripped apart by Trump's xenophobic furor. While the first aspect of their case was going on, they were brave enough to share their story with MSNBC to bring light on the real impacts on families seeking safety and to stand up for their community.

Now the community needs to stand up for them. Please donate what you can. Every little bit counts.