A Father Ripped Away From His Daughter

by Freedom for Immigrants

Jose, a Mexican artist, faces deportation and life without his 9-year-old daughter. You can help keep them together.

Jose is a Mexican artist, who has been detained in immigration for over eight months. Linda Olvera, through Freedom for Immigrants, has been assisting Jose since then in many ways but, most importantly, to attain an attorney.

Jose moved to the United States when he was 15 years old and has resided in California for 23 years. Aside from being a great artist, Jose is a hardworking, loving father of a United States citizen daughter, who is only 9-years-old. In fact, Jose discovered his talent as an artist when he would draw princesses with his daughter at the park.

“Linda, this looks like my daughter.”

Sadly, due to the increasing gentrification in the Bay Area, Jose became homeless and was forced to sleep in his car. Although Jose worked really hard in construction, the amount of money he earned was not enough to pay the rent and provide the monthly financial support to his daughter.

Without having any doubt, Jose never stopped providing financial support to his child, even when this meant that he would be homeless. All he wants is to provide the best life to the person he loves the most, his daughter.

One night, someone from the neighborhood where Jose would usually park his car to sleep at night, noticed that he was living in his car. This person contacted the police and Jose was arrested. Once he was released from criminal custody, immigration officers detained him and placed him in West County Detention Facility in Richmond, CA, a county jail & ICE detention facility where he has been detained since September of 2017.

Jose is applying for an immigration relief that requires him to submit to the Immigration Court a lot of documentation that he has been unable to obtain because he is detained. Although he has done his best trying to find the documents he needs in order to not be deported from the United States, he has not been able to find most of the documents.

Jose has a final hearing on June 4, where it is most likely that he will receive a deportation order because of the lack of documentation in his case. Jose could be released from immigration detention if he pays a bond of $20,000 but neither Jose nor his family have the financial resources to afford this bond amount.

This is why we are asking everyone to support Jose, so he can be allowed to fight his case outside the detention center and have a real chance to stay in the United States with his 9-year-old daughter.

During the months he has been detained, he has created amazing art, shown below, that you can purchase and support him.

All of the money we collect will go to pay his $20,000 bond. If you are not interested in the art, please donate. Any amount of money will help!

Click here** to support Jose and his daughter.**

If you’d like to purchase his artwork, email Linda at lindao2@sbcglobal.net.