The Sanctuary Coalition Waldo County, Maine, is comprised of several organizations and individuals assisting vulnerable immigrant families.

At this time we are supporting a woman from our local area who was detained by ICE and released to await her immigration hearing. She has an immigration court hearing on October 16th but has been unable to get a lawyer due to lack of funds. We have contacted free immigration service, but they are not able to take her case at this time. She is mother to a nine year old, has a serious medical condition, and is undergoing long-term medical treatment, which makes it difficult to sustain employment. Without a lawyer to accompany and represent her at her immigration hearing, she is at very high risk of being detained indefinitely and deported.

Our goal is to raise a total of $12,000. Nine thousand of which will cover the cost of the lawyer, and approximately $2,700 will go toward living expenses during this time. We are estimating $300.00 will go toward Go Fund Me fees.

Please read her story in her words below which have been translated from her home language:

Dear Community,

I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read my story and for any support you can offer me. I just want to present myself well before the judge, do things correctly, and have the opportunity for my case to be heard fairly. As a mother, my greatest wish is to give my daughter stability and peace of mind.

I am the mother of a 9-year-old girl who is my engine, my reason to stay on my feet.

I left Venezuela not because I wanted to, but because I had to leave because of political persecution. Leaving my land, my family, everything I knew, was heartbreaking. The road to the United States was very difficult, crossing so many countries with my little girl, hungry, afraid, sleeping where possible, but with the hope that here we would be safe.

Arriving here was not the end of fear. I've also felt persecution here. One of the hardest nights of my life was when I was detained and taken by ICE. I was held for hours. Hours of fear, uncertainty, crying and just thinking: what will happen to my daughter if I don't get out? Who is going to take care of her? They asked me a lot of questions and my only truth was to tell them that I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma, that my life depends on a pill that I have to take every day without fail. They released me because I was sick and because my daughter needed me.

Today, although I am free, I am not completely free. Worry haunts me every day. We cannot work properly due to the constant fear that ICE will stop us on the street. We see so many things in the news, that even people's lives are taken away, and that fear paralyzes us.

And now I have another anguish that doesn't let me sleep: on October 16 I have a hearing with the Judge in the Immigration Court. It's my opportunity to explain my case. But the lawyer asks me for $9,000 in total, and $3,000 just to start representing me. Unfortunately, I don't have that money. My husband and I only manage to pay the rent and the bills. It has not been easy, every day is a struggle.

I have to buy my thyroid pills every month because my life depends on that, I have to follow my ongoing medical treatment for a car accident that was someone else's fault, I have to feed my daughter and pay for a roof over our heads. All of this at once, and without being able to work peacefully.

I don't ask for luxuries. I just ask for a chance. An opportunity to present myself before the Judge with a lawyer who helps me, who guides me, who does not leave me alone. An opportunity to continue taking care of my daughter and to continue fighting to be in good health.

That's why today, with humility and with my heart in my hand, I appreciate any support you can give me. Any help, no matter how small it seems, for me will be of great help and will be a blessing for my family.

Thank you for reading my story, for listening to me and for not leaving me alone in this difficult moment.

With respect and gratitude,

A Mother in Waldo County, Maine