Mady Maya

My mom came to the U.S. when she was a little girl, and she has basically been here her whole life. Because she was so young, all of the immigration stuff was handled by the adults around her. Her family members were able to get their documents, but somehow hers was never fully taken care of. She was literally a child, so obviously she didn’t understand any of it or know that years later it would turn into something she would have to deal with herself. My dad has tried for years to help her fix it. He’s paid for legal help, gone to charities and different organizations, filed paperwork, and tried to get answers, but nothing ever really got resolved. A lot of the details from when she first came here are also hard to figure out now. Her mom would have known more about what happened, but she later had dementia and has since passed away. My mom was so young at the time that she doesn’t remember all of it herself either. Now she has an immigration court case, and we recently found a lawyer who believes he can help fight it, try to get the case dismissed, and help her stay here with us. The legal fees are around $11,000 upfront, which is why I’m making this, and I set the fundraiser goal at $11,500 to help cover GoFundMe’s transaction fees as well. I honestly hate asking people for money and I really went back and forth about even doing this. My family is not expecting strangers to just pay for everything for us. My siblings are all putting in what they can, I’m putting in my own money, and I’m going through my clothes and things I own to sell what I can too. We are trying. It’s just that $11,000 all at once is a lot of money for us to come up with. My mom has spent basically her whole life here. Her husband is here, all of her kids are here, her grandkids are here. She was a stay-at-home mom and raised all of us. This is really all she knows as home, and the thought of her having to leave and go somewhere she hasn’t lived since she was a little girl is honestly terrifying to all of us. I know immigration is something people have really strong opinions about, and I’m not trying to argue with anybody or change anyone’s mind. I’m just asking people to look at this as a family who is scared of losing their mom. She raised us and took care of us our whole lives, so now I just want to do everything I possibly can to help her. If you’re struggling financially yourself, please don’t feel like you have to donate. But if you’re in a position where even a dollar, a few dollars, or anything at all wouldn’t hurt you, we would be so grateful. And if you can’t donate, even sharing this could help a lot. Even if we don’t raise the full amount here, I’m still going to do whatever I can to come up with the rest. I just know I would regret it if I was too embarrassed to ask for help and didn’t at least try. Thank you to anyone who donates, shares this, or even just takes the time to read it. It really means a lot to me and my family. ❤️