Asking for help for a homeless mother and her 9 year old daughter (also, f*ck immigration!!!!!!!!!)
(Okay, first off, this is going to be long. If you want the short version, read the about section found on our PayPal Pool. Secondly, I don't claim to be an expert in immigration, a lawyer, or anything remotely capable/smart like that, I'm just doing my best. My apologies in advance if I'm using the wrong terms, language, etc.)
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Pictured above is my 48 year old mother in law standing with my sister in law. I'm protecting their names and censoring any potential identifying features at this time due to the nature of the situation, plus, protecting kids identities.
My mother in law became a US citizen in January 2012. She immigrated the US from Venezuela in 1995 after she met her first husband, and had my husband and his siblings. She then divorced their father in 2011, and met her current husband. They got married in 2013 and welcomed a daughter that same year. In early 2014, they started applying for him to be in the US legally (started in early 2014, had to hire legal representation in 2017 and have been working with them since).
On May 27, 2022, my mother in law traveled to Mexico along with her husband and daughter. They went as the next step to establishing legal residency for her husband. He received a pardon in 2016 (why they hired a lawyer) and have been cooperating with immigration since. Their next step was to travel to Mexico to interview with the embassy, and then re-enter the US legally. After a 45 minute meeting, his visa was refused, and he is now not allowed to return to the US until new paperwork is filed. We've been told this process could take 6 months, it could take years.
He was employed as a manual laborer on a farm. He worked in exchange for a weekly stipend, and a 3 bedroom house (rent/utility free) for the three of them. My mother and law and sister in law flew back to Maryland on June 13th, my husband and I picked them up, and they arrived back at their home. Once he informed his boss of what was happening, they were told that if he wasn't there to work, they would have 3 days from their flight back to Maryland to pack up their whole house and leave. From Tuesday through Thursday, they packed up the house, and started staying with a friend. Currently they have housing secured through Thursday, June 28th. After that, their only options are homeless shelters, since they have no other friends/family. My husband's siblings both live out of state (one in CA and one who doesn't really have much contact but lives in WV).
She has 4 job interviews this upcoming week. She has about $350 in cash, but we all know how far that will go when it comes to a) a 9 year old's appetite and b) $350 isn't SHIT these days. We are trying to fundraise enough to cover all move in costs (first months rent $950, security deposit $950, pet fee for a cat $200), plus basic furniture (a bed/mattress for them to share ~$150, kitchen items $50, the dollar tree is BOMB yall, personal hygiene items ~$50, and some additional grocery/gas money ~$300 and a little extra for any fees) for them so that they can avoid this while still working with immigration, lawyers, etc. so that he can return.
My sister in law is so resilient for a 9 year old, and we currently are doing our best to protect her from everything going on. My husband and I have volunteered to help with watching her as much as we can once she has a job, so we're not looking for assistance with any childcare costs, just getting them into an apartment about 15 minutes from us so that we can support them as much as possible.
We have contacts in to a few resources that advertise that they will help with move in fees, but we're unsure how long that will take. If you're in the DMV area and know of any resources/assistance, we'll gladly take it. If you have any questions, please reach out.
I know that it's so hard out here for everyone, everything has doubled in price it seems, and we're all struggling. My sister in law is the best kid I've met, and she deserves to have her family intact and a safe place to live. If you can reblog this, share the link, retweet the tweet that brought you here.. It may reach someone who is able to help get them stable. Thank you for reading this.