ICE activity drives Arizona families to online fundraising platforms

Georges Maskini is no stranger to being told he doesn’t belong. His parents fled political persecution in the Democratic Republic of Congo and sought refuge in South Africa in 2000, where Georges was later born. In South Africa, he and his family faced discrimination and xenophobic violence, and they decided to flee again, this time to the United States. 

After three years in the United States, Georges was starting to let his guard down. It was a far cry from his life in South Africa. Now, the life Georges had begun to build hangs in the balance after he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials last month. 

“When I came here [to the U.S.], I seen a lot of foreign people so I understood, ‘Oh, it’s the United States because we’re all united from different places,’” Georges told Arizona Luminaria over the phone on Monday, which also marked his 21st birthday. “I felt more safe and like I can really live the American dream out here.”

“The only thing that’s changed is now I feel like I have to be a citizen to feel safe,” he continued. “Being an immigrant is risky.” 

Georges found himself behind locked doors at the Florence Detention Center, where he was taken by ICE officials following a June 2 traffic stop in Phoenix. They told him he was being detained for having an expired student visa, he told Luminaria.

But Georges’ family came to Arizona on visas and applied for asylum soon after arriving. They were granted work permits while they await a hearing. Under U.S. law, people seeking asylum can remain in the country while their claims are reviewed. 

“I thought I was getting out next, but then ICE came in and they put me in shackles,” said Georges, who was a passenger in the vehicle.

“I was scared. I was crying,” he continued. “It was all happening fast.”

Georges’ family is among dozens across Arizona turning to online platforms to rally support for their cases in the wake of the Trump administration’s escalating immigration enforcement and rollback of asylum protections.

Recent fundraisers on GoFundMe cite needs for legal representation, bond and support as families navigate helping a loved one detained by ICE, while other online campaigns are collecting signatures to pressure ICE to release people.

The surge in online fundraising campaigns for immigration cases reflects a broader national trend. An analysis by USA Today found that immigration-related GoFundMe campaigns have raised more than $1.8 million since President Donald Trump took office in mid-January, with a majority occurring in the past two months. 

“Before June, many of the fundraisers with the keyword ‘ICE’ were campaigns related to ice hockey, ice cream and the ice bucket challenge, which raises money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients,” the article states.

ICE enforcement drives surge in online fundraisers

As Georges sat for weeks at the detention center, his family scrambled to make sense of the situation and come up with money to put toward a down payment for an attorney. While Georges was ultimately able to secure a bond hearing, his family’s legal costs were only just beginning. 

With resources already stretched thin and $8,000 due for Georges’ bond, Leah Mundell, a family friend in Flagstaff, launched a GoFundMe campaign on June 24 to help support their effort. Within days, the campaign raised thousands, covering half the bond and the other half provided by the Pima Monthly Meeting Bond Fund, an initiative from a Quaker community in Tucson. 

“I felt at ease seeing the community involvement, people I don't know that has been donating to support, sympathizing with what happened, what we're going through,” Rose Maskini, Georges’ mom, told Luminaria. “It’s just amazing.” 

She added that they also plan to return the bond money to the organization once they get it back “so that they can pass it on to the next person that may go through the same situation that we went through.”

Georges was released on July 20 and reunited with his family. His next hearing is scheduled for October in Phoenix and, in the meantime, his fundraiser remains active to help cover lost income and an estimated $16,050 in future legal fees. 

According to Georges, he almost lost his job due to being detained and had to go to work immediately after bonding out to keep it. He initially took up the job to help support his family and save money for college.

“It affected me a lot because I just got my place, so I had to pay rent and then when I came out I had to get money to get my car because it got repossessed,” he said. “It was just adding more debt onto me.”

Across Arizona, families navigating immigration detention are increasingly turning to online platforms to raise awareness about a loved one’s case or cover legal costs. Unlike the U.S. legal system, people in immigration proceedings are not guaranteed an attorney and the burden falls on the individual or their families to find legal representation on their own. 

Georges says before he was taken to the detention center he was given a list of nonprofits that could help him with legal services, but they either didn’t answer the phone or said they weren’t able to take on any more cases. 

“It took me two, three weeks for me to understand the process; that I’m going to have to get a lawyer first, I’m gonna have to try to get money for the lawyer, try to get bond,” Georges said, adding that he had access to a phone at the detention center but also needed to pay.

“There was an ICE officer that would come in every now and then and explain what’s going on … so when people were confused [about their case] they can go and ask questions,” he said. 

As of Tuesday, Georges’ campaign had raised just over $9,000 of its $10,000 goal. It was one of three to launch in the Flagstaff-area in the last 30 days, which over the previous five months saw no other similar GoFundMe campaigns. During that same time frame, the Phoenix-area alone saw more than 20 new ICE-related fundraisers launched on GoFundMe, typically seeking between several hundred and $15,000 and often describing how a loved one was detained by ICE during a traffic stop, workplace raid or personal home visit. 

While GoFundMe did not immediately respond to Arizona Luminaria’s request for comment or verify any of the campaigns identified in this reporting, dozens have appeared across Arizona. Here are a few examples: 

Francisco, Tucson

Francisco was detained on July 11 at a checkpoint while traveling from Nogales to Tucson, according to a campaign launched by his wife, Kimberly Gastelum, on July 12. She titled the GoFundMe page: “Help Bring My Husband Home.”

“They got his fingerprints and they took him to the Nogales, AZ, station telling him that they would bring him to Tucson the next morning without a problem. A couple hours later, I got a call from a border patrol officer in which he told me that my husband was going to be detained due to not having ‘status,’” she wrote, adding that she was told her husband would be sent to a detention center in Eloy. 

Kimberly says her husband entered the U.S. legally and “is not a criminal.” The couple has two young children and Kimberly works part-time, making it difficult for her to cover legal fees while supporting her family.

The GoFundMe had raised just over $400 of its $2,000 goal as of Tuesday. 

Dulce Cerillo, Phoenix

Dulce Cerillo was detained by ICE during a traffic stop on her way to work, according to a campaign created on June 19 by a friend’s mother, Olga Godoy. 

“Dulce has been in the U.S. since she was a child — this is her home,” Olga wrote. “She went to school here, built her life here and is now a loving mother to her 4-year-old son.”

“Dulce has no immediate family here anymore and is relying on her friends and community to support her during this incredibly difficult time,” she continued. 

The campaign aims to raise funds for legal costs, basic needs for Dulce while she’s detained and support for her son while they’re separated. It had raised $185 of its $800 goal as of Tuesday. 

Salvador, Phoenix 

“This man is more than a headline,” reads another campaign, about Salvador, who was detained by ICE in mid-June. According to a campaign launched on June 25 by Hayley Gigstead, a member of his community, the 55-year-old was the primary provider for his wife and four kids. 

“They’ve built a quiet, humble life centered around family and faith,” Hayley wrote. “They’ve endured hardships no family should ever face — including the devastating loss of one of their children — and now they’re navigating a new one: the unimaginable separation from their father.”

“He is a father, a husband, a neighbor and a friend,” she continued. “He has contributed so much to our community, quietly and consistently, and now his family needs us to show up for them in return.”

The funds will be used to help Salvador’s family cover costs for housing, utilities, groceries, daily essentials and emergency needs. It raised just over $1,600 of its $6,500 goal, as of Tuesday. 

Arbella “Yari” Rodríguez Márquez, Phoenix

Arbella Rodríguez Márquez, who goes by Yari, has been denied release from the Eloy Detention Center despite having chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to an online petition collecting signatures for her release. The petition was created by Trans Queer Pueblo, an organization that supports trans and queer migrants, of which Yari is a member. 

“Since being detained, she has lost over 55 pounds, her hands are swollen and her health is in rapid decline,” the petition states, adding that a detention officer on June 24 denied a formal request for her release.

Yari was detained by ICE officials in early February while returning home to Phoenix through the Nogales border. She was then sent to the detention center described in the petition as “a death trap where LQBTQ+ people are segregated, denied adequate medical care and forced into silence.”

The petition demands that Yari is released immediately, given medical care outside of detention and not retaliated against. It had collected nearly $1,300 of its $2,000 signature goals as of Tuesday. 

“Yari is not alone … we stand by her. Our city stands by her. And we will not stop until she is free,” the petition states. 

“The world is watching. Every day you keep her locked up is another day of cruelty, negligence and violence carried out under your name.”

“Free Yari now.”

This article first appeared on AZ Luminaria and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.