Maria fled Guatemala in 2023 with her husband, Miguel, and their two young daughters, escaping a region of Guatemala devastated by climate change and forced eviction of families so plantations can expand territory for palm oil development in Maya Q'eqchi' territory. They came to Houston looking for safety. What they found instead was one crisis after another. But through every single challenge, Maria has kept fighting for her children.

In 2024, Maria gave birth to Michael, a baby boy born with a serious congenital heart condition. By six months old, he needed a pacemaker. He now requires round the clock care and is fed through a G-tube —a medical device inserted through the abdomen into the stomach to provide nutrition, fluids, and medication. The care Michael needs can only be found in a city like Houston, with the Texas Medical Center.

Then, in August 2025, everything fell apart at once. While Micael was hospitalized, Miguel left briefly to attend his asylum hearing. He speaks primarily Maya Q'eqchi', with limited Spanish and no English, and a prior miscommunication had already caused him to miss a hearing. This time, he was arrested at the courthouse and deported to Guatemala within two weeks, separated permanently from his wife, his newborn, and his three other children.

Alone, overwhelmed, and consumed with keeping her medically fragile son alive, Maria fell behind on everyday logistics. Her daughters weren't enrolled in school. When Child Protective Services visited, a language barrier caused a devastating misunderstanding: asked if she could provide for her children, Maria said no, believing she was being offered help, not evaluated for removal. Her electricity was shut off the same day, because she hadn't been able to navigate the bill. CPS removed her children.

What followed was months of Maria showing up: to every hearing, every requirement, every proof of stability the courts asked for...all while selling food to support her family and pregnant with her fourth child. With the help of community advocates who fought to secure Maya Q'eqchi' interpretation in court, Maria won her children back. In February, she gave birth to her youngest, João.

Today, Maria is raising four children alone: two school age daughters, an infant, and a toddler whose heart condition requires regular treatment at the Medical Center — with appointments that can take an entire day. In between, she sells food and flowers on the side of a busy highway to make ends meet.

Miguel cannot return to the U.S. without facing criminal penalties. And Michael cannot survive in Guatemala without the specialized cardiac care he receives here. Maria is not choosing to raise her children alone, she has no other option that keeps her son alive.

She doesn't need a one time miracle. She needs steady, reliable support to cover rent, utilities, and food every month, for the foreseeable future.

If you can commit to a recurring monthly gift, you become part of what keeps this family housed and together while Maria does the impossible: caring for a medically fragile toddler, an infant, two school-age daughters, and building a stable life, all without her husband by her side.

Join us in supporting Maria with a monthly gift. Consistency is what she needs most right now.