Support Tomas' Family in Their Move to Mexico

Seven years ago, my life changed. I was a single mom waitressing to take care of my children. I was working at a local restaurant and every night at the end of my shift, I would order the same thing. Soon, my food was being prepared before I could send in the order. One of my coworkers would bring it to me and tell me that it came from Chaparro. I was fairly new and had no idea who that was. Soon after that started, every night he would walk me to my car. We would talk for a bit and then I would leave. Eventually, one night he walked me out to my car and asked if I would be his girlfriend. I said yes. He immediately told me he loved me and I immediately told him to slow down. A few months later, we moved in together. He took on my kids as his own. He’s the only father they’ve ever known. He’s won all of our hearts and I honestly don’t know how I survived so long without him. We were married on May 17, 2019. And when the officiant told us to kiss, my son jumped up and surrounded the both of us with a hug. We all knew our family was complete. Tomas is kind, easygoing, generous, and eager to help anyone that needs it.

Tomas has been in the US for almost 30 years. He’s never been in trouble. He’s never even had a speeding ticket. He worked for the same company for most of his time in the States until last year. He’s one of the ones who has tried to do the right thing. He’s not here to do anything but love and take care of us.

Tomas’ immigration status has always been a concern. Once we got together, we sat down with the kids and talked about what that meant. For example, we taught our then 7 and 8-year-old not to answer the door for law enforcement. We can’t take certain vacations as a family. I have to drive everywhere. We’re always looking over our shoulders.

In light of recent events and the changes our government is currently going through, we have made the difficult decision to leave the US (and all my kids and I have ever known) and relocate to Mexico. We plan on trying to re-enter correctly eventually.

This will greatly impact not only our lives but my extended family as well. I’m close with my parents and siblings and can’t imagine not being a few minutes away. My dad’s health isn’t great and being away terrifies me. But we have to do this to be safe.

This is costly and even more so trying to do it as a family, but I cannot be without him. We have a plan in place once we get to Mexico, but getting there and getting our immediate needs covered is difficult. We’re planning to be out of the country by September 1, 2025. Any help in accomplishing this is beyond appreciated.