✨ A Story That Could Be Any of Us ✨

Imagine this: a father leaves for work in the morning, lunch packed, ready for another long shift in his tow truck. He’s not thinking about anything but getting through the day and coming home to his wife and five children.

But that night, he didn’t come home.

Here’s what happened. While doing his job towing a vehicle that was illegally parked at a fast-food business establishment, the car owner became upset and called the police. Now, car owners calling the police on tow truck drivers isn’t unusual—it happens. But in this case, the responding officer seemed unusually sympathetic to the car owner, despite the fact the business itself had called the tow truck. Instead of focusing on the violation, the officer decided to run the tow truck driver’s record.

A couple of unpaid tickets appeared. That small detail, something so many of us can relate to, spiraled into his arrest. From there, ICE stepped in and he’s waiting deportation.

This man—who came to the U.S. as a child from Guatemala in the 1990s, who grew up here, who married, who became a father of five, who has filed and paid taxes faithfully every year, who has been the sole provider so his wife, Krystal, could raise their children—is now sitting in ICE custody.

And while his world is turned upside down, so is his family’s. Isaiah, Bella, Ileigh, Bentley, and Kai no longer have their father at home. They no longer have their steady source of income. Their routines, their security, their sense of normal—all shaken overnight because their dad went to work.

When you look at this families photo and say wait - they go to my kid’s school; oh wow she’s a cheerleader with my daughter; hey, I’ve seen them at my church; or at your daughter’s volleyball game; or yea, I know him from my son’s football team… when we hear about “those people” affected by immigration policy, this is who we’re really talking about: families, children, neighbors—people we pass at the grocery store, at school drop-offs, at church.

Right now, this family needs us. They need help with food, rent, and the basics of daily living while they figure out how to move forward.

If your heart is moved, there are two ways you can step in:

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover expenses.

A Meal Train is also available for anyone willing to provide meals, gift cards, or grocery support.

No one plans for a crisis like this. But together, we can help this family hold on until brighter days come again.