Stephanie Delgado

My name is Stephanie, I’m writing this for my boyfriend Alejandro. I’ve been thinking about how to write this because Alejandro is not just an immigration case to me. He is not just a number, a court date, or paperwork. He is the person I love. He is someone who has changed my life, and someone I truly believe deserves the chance to keep building the future he has worked so hard for. Alejandro is 18 years old and came to the United States from Cali, Colombia about three years ago. He is currently fighting his immigration case, with his next court date coming up in October. We are trying to raise $10,000 to help with the legal costs involved in his case, including attorney fees, court-related expenses, and the paperwork needed to continue fighting for his future here. The hardest part about writing this is knowing how much Alejandro carries without letting people see it. If you met him, you might first notice his confidence, his honesty, or his sense of humor. But what I see is the person behind all of that. Alejandro is one of the most loving people I have ever met. He is the type of person who, even when he doesn’t have much, will still find a way to give. If he has money and someone he cares about needs help, he helps. He has never been selfish with what he has. His heart has always been bigger than his circumstances. Alejandro is a hard worker. He is dedicated, and honestly a homebody. He stays to himself and puts his energy into the things he loves. One of those things is photography. On March 30, 2025, Alejandro started his photography page, @1of1official._. He started with nothing except his passion and his willingness to put in the work. He would spend hours waiting at gas stations or different places hoping to find the perfect cars to photograph. Then he would go home, edit, and keep improving. He doesn’t do it because it’s easy. He does it because creating something means something to him. Even when he would put all that work in to get 2 likes, he never got discouraged I never once heard him complain. He has been consistent since the beginning. If he hasn’t posted, it bothers him because being consistent is important to him. That dedication has already taken him places. He has been invited to events, people have reached out to pay him for his work, and one of his videos reached over 1 million views and 264,000 likes. What makes me proud of Alejandro is not just what he has accomplished. It is the person he has remained through everything. One of the biggest things Alejandro has taught me is that love does not always look the way we expect it to. Before him, I thought love was mostly about saying things and showing things in the same ways that I did. But Alejandro taught me that sometimes love is quieter. Sometimes love is cooking for someone. Sometimes it is remembering a small thing they mentioned weeks ago and surprising them with it. Sometimes it is giving when you don’t have much to give. Alejandro has always loved through his actions. Something I’ve learned about him is that his silence does not mean he doesn’t care. Sometimes when he is overwhelmed, he needs time to understand what he is feeling before he can put it into words. I used to think that if someone wasn’t immediately saying what was wrong, maybe they didn’t care enough to explain. But loving Alejandro taught me that people carry things differently. He is someone who feels deeply. He just does not always show it in the loudest way. But when he finally opens up, when he finally lets you see what is going on inside his mind, you realize there was so much more there than anyone could have seen from the outside. The thing that hurts me the most is knowing that while I was getting to know him, falling in love with him, and building memories with him, he was also carrying the fear of possibly losing the life he built here. Alejandro loves his family deeply. His relationship with his mom, dad, and little sister is something I admire so much. He speaks to them with so much love and respect. They are a small, close family, and they have always been there for each other. They have also welcomed me into their family. During one of the hardest moments in my own life, his family made me feel safe. They told me their home was my home. They fed me, cared for me, and reminded me what it feels like to be surrounded by genuine kindness. That is who Alejandro is. That is the family he comes from. If Alejandro is able to stay, I see a beautiful future for him. I see him continuing to grow as a photographer, traveling the world, experiencing things he has dreamed about, driving his dream car, and one day making it to Egypt like we always talk about. More than anything, I want him to feel like people believe in him. Because I do. I know everyone has their own struggles, and I don’t take anyone’s help for granted. But if you are able to donate, you would not just be helping with legal fees. You would be helping a young man protect the future he has worked so hard to create. A future with his family. A future with his dreams. A future he deserves the chance to live. Thank you for taking the time to read Alejandro’s story. Even sharing this fundraiser means more than you know.