Noticias

Blair Unida is a community of parents, teachers, and neighbors who have come together to support local families whose children attend schools within the Blair Cluster. We are a schools-connected chapter of the Montgomery County Immigrant Rights Collective (MoCo IRC).

Read on to learn more about the positive impact we are having. And, please consider making a donation today. To meet the current needs of our community, we need your support today!

At the heart ❤️ of Blair Unida’s work is a simple belief: No family should have to navigate the unjust detention (or fear of detention) of their loved one alone.

Our Legal Fund is a core part of that commitment. It builds on the work of our Blair Bears community care teams, who walk alongside impacted families and help them access immediate and ongoing support. We coordinate closely with staff at our local schools, who are essential partners in making sure students and families can access resources through Montgomery County. And beyond the direct support we provide, we are building something lasting: a web of care and connection strong enough to connect families through and beyond crisis.

Our support matters because the need is real, urgent, and growing. ✊🏿✊🏼✊🏾✊🏻✊🏽

We are supporting families like B’s. 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦

B and his wife F are devoted parents to their three children. Last September, B was on his way to work when he and a friend were pulled over and detained by ICE. B has lived in this country for more than 20 years. He has spent those years working hard, contributing to his community, and doing everything he can to provide for his family. After his detention, he was transferred from one terrible ICE facility to another before finally ending up in Arizona.

His family found legal counsel for his immigration case, but because he was detained in Arizona, they needed another attorney to file a habeas petition to try to get him released from detention. Desperate and running out of options, they turned to someone who promised help — and demanded $5,000 in cash. This was late December. B had already been detained for three months and was facing serious health issues. His family had poured everything they had into his case and were struggling to survive on reduced income. In their desperation, they took out a loan and paid her.

It was a scam. 💔

When the family turned to the school for help, caring staff stepped in. Blair Unida did too.

We assembled a Blair Bears Community Care Team to build a relationship with B’s wife and help stabilize the family. The team connected them with groceries and other support. We helped them recover the money stolen by the fake lawyer. Then we connected them with a trusted attorney to file the habeas petition, and the Blair Unida Legal Fund covered the cost.

Just a few weeks later, B was granted bond. The Blair Unida Legal Fund paid the bond.

When he was released, our Legal Fund helped again, while the community care team coordinated the complicated logistics of getting him home from Arizona — made even harder because he had been released without his phone, wallet, or identification.

Imagine leaving for work one morning and suddenly disappearing into a maze of detention centers, legal barriers, and fear. Imagine being the family left behind, trying to keep food on the table, answer children’s questions, and somehow find tens of thousands of dollars for legal help. Wouldn’t you hope your community would show up for you? 💕

That is what your support makes possible. 🫶

B’s family is back together today because his wife did not give up, and because neighbors stepped in with care, practical help, and financial support at exactly the moment it was needed most. Their journey through our country’s immigration system is far from over, but they are not facing it alone.

And they are not the only family who needs that kind of support. Click here to set up a recurring tax deductible donation to the Blair Unida Legal Fund now!

Just a few days ago another impacted family received a call that their husband/dad, E, was being released from detention that night. The facility indicated that he had to be picked up by a U.S. resident. This hard working family called their Blair Bears team - the same team that has supported them in accessing groceries, legal support, resources from the Blair Unida Legal Fund, emotional support, and so much more. The team sprang into action. Just five hours later, two of the community care team members arrived at the door of the facility with E's eldest son to escort him home to the rest of his family.

Not every family's legal case ends in a reunion here in the United States. We have built friendships and connection with families whose loved one has been dropped in a country other than their own by ICE. We have grieved with families when they receive news that their loved one was deported - often overnight without notice. And, then we have worked together - centering the dignity and agency of that family as they decide what to do. In some cases, families have chosen to reunite in their country of origin and our volunteers have supported them in the complicated process of securing their children's official school records, shipping items to their country of origin, planning "despedidas" (farewell parties), selling items, and so much more. Recently, a Blair Bear accompanied a young child to reunite with her mother who was deported. While a political border separates us from these new friends, our solidarity and friendship remains intact.

Of those 46 families:

• 💙 43 are receiving community care support

• 💼 19 are receiving or will receive legal referrals and direct financial support for legal representation

• ⚖️ 41% of the families we serve have needed legal funding and support

And the need is rising fast. 📈

Legal fees for even one case can easily reach tens of thousands of dollars. Families facing detention or trying to prevent it are forced to navigate a crushing maze of paperwork, court dates, legal systems, lost income, childcare needs, and trauma. Blair Unida helps accompany them through all of it: connecting them to trusted lawyers, raising emergency funds, coordinating care, helping with forms and logistics, and creating moments of dignity and relief in the middle of profound uncertainty.

This is what neighbors helping neighbors looks like.

But we cannot keep saying yes to families in crisis without your help.

Please make a donation to the Blair Unida Legal Fund today. Your gift will help keep families together, connect parents to trusted legal representation, and ensure children in our community are not left to weather these devastating crises alone.

Every dollar matters. Every gift is an act of solidarity. Every donation tells a family in crisis: you are not alone, and this community will fight for you.

Give today and help Blair Unida continue showing up when our neighbors need us most.

Questions? Email 💌 blairunida@proton.me

Follow us: IG: @blairunida

Blair Unida supports families in the following schools in our work as a community care arm of Montgomery County Immigrant Rights Collective (@MoCo_IRC):

• Takoma Park ES 🐬
• Piney Branch ES
• Rolling Terrace ES 🐯
• East Silver Spring ES 🐼
• New Hampshire Estates ES 🐝
• Oak View ES 🐉
• Montgomery Knolls ES 🪄
• Pine Crest ES 🐺
• Sligo Creek ES 🦎
• Eastern Middle School 🦅
• Silver Spring International Middle School 🐆
• Takoma Park Middle School
• Montgomery Blair High School 😈