Support Jose's Family in Their Relocation Journey

It is with a heavy heart that we share with you all that after a decade of advocating for the rights of our son, we made the difficult and hasty decision to leave the country. A few weeks ago, we had to really consider our personal safety in a way we had not done before. We are asking for your monetary support in helping us cover the rest of our relocation expenses, as well as your support in helping us get through this difficult and scary transition to rebuild our business and the life that we left behind. Our family is greatly appreciative of your support in these uncertain times.

Watching this administration target immigrant activists also added to our worries, and although Jose is a US citizen, this administration seems not to care about people’s legal status. We’ve also had multiple ICE raids in our neighborhood. We know that this message will come as a shock, and we do not want to alarm folks, and you will naturally have questions. I’ve been procrastinating writing this because we just can’t believe this is real.

Seeing the proclamation come out on 4/3 really angered us. We see this as a precursor of what is to come. We’ve had 13 anti-trans bills pass in AZ. Most will be vetoed except a bathroom ban that will be on the next Nov ballot. The 9th circuit ruling on bathrooms was devastating and is already being implemented, and I worry about the criminalization of parents should the Skrimetti ruling be bad.

We did not want to leave our home, family, community, or business. We are truly devastated and a little homesick, but as mentioned above, the proclamation was a reminder that we made the right choice in leaving.

This was never on our loteria card, and so a lot of hard conversations were had with family/chosen about what we should do. Unfortunately, leaving felt like the best choice in this moment, and our loved ones agreed. The continued attacks on transgender youth and their families is a constant concern for us all when it comes to free speech and bodily autonomy. I know you are all worried for your own safety too. I also know that there are still ways for us to fight back, and we will continue to advocate via our various org affiliations, and we will continue to help support families in need from our new location. I still believe and hope that proximity can change hearts and that we can use our voices to affect change! I hope you don’t misunderstand our leaving as giving up. I’ve felt so much guilt about this decision.

We also want to apologize to those of you who reached out to us in these last three weeks. We were so overwhelmed, angry, and scared that we didn’t have the capacity to connect. It was so much to process and there was so much to get done in a short amount of time. We are so sorry for not saying goodbye… and so this is just a see you later.

We cannot express enough how much sharing space with you has meant to us, and we will miss you all so much. You can still connect with us via social media, and our phone numbers are the same.

Thank you to everyone who supported our art sale and came by the warehouse. Your support and help made all the difference during this difficult transition. It meant so much to us to hug so many of you before we left.

We love you all and send you all a giant hug ️‍⚧️