Help Tocho Get His Smile Back

Fructoso Amaya Blanco (aka Tocho) is an amazing human being.  I've had the pleasure of working and knowing him for over 10 years. No matter what the day held or how I was feeling Tocho always has the superhuman ability to make me smile and put me in a good mood. In the past month this has changed. Tocho has been working (for almost as long as I had known him) to become a citizen of the USA. He did things the right way, he paid his taxes (under the social security number given to him by the US government), he worked hard for his family, and jumped through all hoops presented to him in his pursuit of becoming a citizen. At the start of February he was notified he would have to self deport to Mexico by the end of March and stay there for 10 years before hoping to continue his pursuit.  Tocho's infectious smile has been replaced by tears, he's lost 25+ pounds, unable to eat and sleep, while wrestling with the reality that he will be separated from his family. 

Tocho has two sons who were both born in the USA. His youngest will be graduating and March and Tocho will not be able to see him walk across the stage and receive his diploma. His oldest son was planning on enrolling in college, but will now be forced to step into the workforce to try and provide for his family. When I spoke to Tocho's oldest son after finding out the news he told me "Every dream we have ever had is being stolen from us."  Tocho's sons and his wife will be relocating somewhere with a lower cost of living to hopefully make this somewhat (somehow) managable. Tocho is returning to a place after 20 years with no family or support system, this is a very scary, overwhelming  reality and we want to help him get on his feet.

We are hoping to raise $5,000 to help Tocho get on his feet in Mexico and we want to raise $10,000 to put towards his continued legal fight. The owner of the company where I work took it upon himself to find a great immigration lawyer to take a look at his case and get a second opinion. This unfortunately brought to light that his previous representation did not exhaust some avenues which may have led to a different result and may not have represented Tocho's best interests  in his fight Now with time being so short, the new attorney has advised that Tocho's best path forward is to comply and return to Mexico, but there is hope that he could possibly return in two years instead of the ten he believed prior to consultation.  

Tocho and his family are the embodiment of the American Dream and are worthy and deserving of our love and support. Please spread his story, please help how you can (even a Dollar helps). Please Help Tocho get his smile back!

UPDATE: Thank you so much to everyone for all the overwhelming support. Tocho's oldest son Edwin has access to begin utilizing these much needed funds at this time. Let's keep the momentum going and spread the word to as many people as possible!