Luz's Journey Back: Your Support Needed

Dear BHS Colleagues and Friends,

We are happy to let you know that Luz Vasquez, the mother of Alejandro Monsalve (Facilities Office Coordinator in the 1934 Broadway office) and part of the Premier Cleaning Company that keeps our offices clean (Upper West Side, TriBeCa, Harlem and Riverdale) was released last week from ICE custody after being detained for 2 1/2 months.

Luz came to the United States thirty-one years ago, and using an immigration attorney was able to obtain a green card. Since arriving in the U.S., Luz has always been a hard-working productive member of society, and as a single mother instilled in her own son the importance of hard work and honesty.

In March of this year, upon her arrival from Alejandro’s wedding in Colombia, Luz was detained at JFK airport and then transferred to a detention facility in Houston, Texas, where she remained for over nine weeks in horrendous conditions.

Thanks to Alejandro’s determination, his retaining of an experienced immigration lawyer and many letters from BHS colleagues and others advocating on Luz’s behalf, she was released last week and her green card was reinstated. While Luz’s return home is a wonderful outcome, it did not come without great cost. The attorney’s fees, which have amassed to $44,850 has put undue hardship on her and her family.

We kindly ask that you join us in helping to defray these costs. A GoFundMe page "Luz's Journey Back: Your Support Needed" has been set up through June 30, 2025, and can be accessed by clicking the link below.

Individual contributions of any amount would be so greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Lynn Sullivan, Roger Gillen and Joe Sheehan

(from the West Side Office)