My father works as a cab driver -- a job that is pretty dangerous in Yonkers.

Just a few weeks after my youngest brother was born, my father had an even more terrifying experience while working a late shift. He picked up a passenger who unexpectedly pulled out a gun to rob him and shot my father. Fortunately it only hit his ear.  Although my father was traumatized, he continued to work, support our home and provide dancing lessons to youth in our community. But now, my father won’t be able to do any of that because ICE has detained him.

My father immigrated to this country  in 1987 to be able to provide for our family of five. Our family has been in Yonkers, New York for over 30 years. And most people in in our town will tell you that my father is one of the rocks that holds the Yonkers community in New York together.

In a city where extracurricular activities were not accessible to youth of color, my father co-founded the Espiritu de Mexico Ballet Folklorico dance group. For the past 20 years, he has worked hard to create a safe space for our youth to take risks, create art and most importantly, to dream big.

Right now my father is sitting at a detention center, isolated from my family and the community that loves him dearly. We miss him so much! I need your help to get my father back home where he belongs.

Please help me keep my father home. My family needs him. My community needs him. #KeepDarioHome