Join us at the Wendell Town Square at 2pm on Saturday, 11/29 at 2pm to call for Fatima's return. View and share the Facebook event here.

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Background:

This week, as we gather with our loved ones and reflect on all we have to be thankful for, there are hundreds of families across North Carolina who will have an empty chair at their table this Thanksgiving because ICE and CBP took their loved ones last week. You've probably seen the videos — people being arrested on the streets, at workplaces, in hospitals, and even in front of childcare centers.

One of those videos was of a 23 year old girl named Fatima who is now at risk of being deported in just a few days, and we're having an emergency rally and protest at the Wendell Town Square this Saturday, November 29th at 2pm, to call for her return.

Fatima is originally from Honduras. When she was 12, her mother died from cancer. Two years later, her father was murdered by gangs. She came to Wendell to be with the only family and support she had left.

She’s been living and working here for nearly a decade now and has been trying to navigate our broken immigration system to “do things the right way.” She graduated from Corinth High School right up the road, she and her boyfriend recently purchased a home here, and they were hoping to start a family soon.

Instead, she was arrested at a job site last week, jailed a few counties over, and then transferred to a detention center in Georgia. Her family pooled enough funds to hire an attorney, but at her initial hearing this week, the immigration judge said that even though Fatima came here as an unaccompanied child seeking asylum, the judge no longer has the authority to grant bond because of a new Trump-administration Justice Department ruling from September.

She’s now at risk of being deported to Honduras.

Fatima does not have anywhere to “go back” to in Honduras — this is her home. She’s been here for nearly a decade. Everything she knows and everything she has is here. This is her home.

Her legal team is fighting, but the reality is: the only thing that will bring Fatima home is public pressure. Fatima’s story is just one of hundreds across the state, but we have an opportunity here to do something that might help bring her home.

That’s why we’re hosting this rally and asking for your help bringing attention to her case.

Fatima deserves to come home to her boyfriend, her family, and her community here in Wendell. So please — help us make noise, help us show up, and help us fight for her. We hope to see you Saturday.