Holding Her Family Together: Alicia’s Journey With ALMA

When immigration headlines speak of fear and uncertainty, stories like Alicia’s show us what hope looks like in action.

Across the country, millions of families live with quiet anxiety: parents afraid to drive to work, children hesitant to attend school, communities shrinking from public life. A recent national survey by MAF revealed that one in four immigrant families have faced direct encounters with ICE, and two-thirds have changed their daily lives to stay safe. Behind every number is a story like Alicia’s: one of strength, sacrifice, and the courage to keep going.

A Daughter’s Courage

Alicia grew up in public housing in San Francisco, the eldest sister and the anchor of her family. When her mother was suddenly detained just two days before her youngest sister’s eighth-grade graduation, Alicia didn’t have time to grieve or panic. She took charge.

She became the family’s voice, managing calls with lawyers, comforting her sisters, and keeping their home together. But even as she held everything together, Alicia faced a heavy truth so many families know: immigration detention can unravel an entire household financially, emotionally, and spiritually.

That’s when she learned about MAF’s ALMA program, a rapid-response program that provides cash assistance, financial coaching, and community support to families facing detention or deportation. A colleague encouraged her to apply. She hesitated at first but eventually filled out the form.

“I just went along with it,” Alicia remembers, “and it ended up being a great opportunity.”

Living Under Threat

Alicia’s story unfolds against a backdrop of heightened immigration enforcement. Across the country, families are changing their routines, avoiding public places, and struggling with the mental health toll of constant uncertainty.

Immigration enforcement ripples through entire communities, affecting children’s school attendance, workers’ willingness to report labor violations, and families’ access to healthcare. Many immigrants face an impossible choice: remain invisible and vulnerable, or seek help and risk exposure.

When her mother was detained, Alicia became the primary point of contact for her mother’s lawyer, handling communications from morning to night. MAF’s survey data reveals the scale of this disruption, with families canceling outings, missing community events, and avoiding social gatherings out of fear. This is the context in which programs like ALMA become lifelines.

A Process That Made Sense

For many immigrants navigating a crisis, applications can feel overwhelming: lengthy, complicated, and full of uncertainty. But Alicia found MAF’s process refreshingly different.

“Everything that was a part of the process was easy, and [MAF] also made it really easy by staying in communication.”

The speed and clarity stood out. Unlike other programs that require extensive documentation and long wait times, the application was straightforward. For someone juggling work, caring for her two younger sisters, and the stress of her mother’s immigration case, that efficiency mattered.

“Everything was pretty self-explanatory, and it was quick, which is something I like about it,” Alicia says. “Cause you know, sometimes other applications you have to put in a lot of information. So I think just getting straight to the point is very good.”

Through the ALMA program, MAF has worked to remove barriers that often keep immigrants from accessing support: high costs, confusing processes, and a lack of culturally relevant resources. By partnering with trusted community organizations, ALMA ensures that people like Alicia can access quality support without the fear and confusion that typically accompany emergencies.

More Than Just Financial Relief

What Alicia found through ALMA went beyond cash assistance. She found a community: a network of people who understood her experience and were genuinely invested in her success.

The program offered dignity, respect, and a clear path forward. For Alicia, who had always struggled with asking for help, this was transformative. It showed her that speaking up wasn’t a weakness but a strength she could teach her sisters.

This holistic approach is intentional. MAF understands that immigration emergencies impact every aspect of life: financial security, mental health, and family stability. ALMA extends this support through multiple pathways: rapid-response cash assistance, financial coaching, and connections to trusted community organizations.

The Toll of Living in Fear

Alicia’s experience reflects a broader reality documented in MAF’s research. The survey reveals how deeply immigration enforcement affects daily life, with parents keeping children home from school and workers avoiding hospitals, even in emergency situations. The psychological burden of this constant vigilance takes a profound toll on mental health, family relationships, and community cohesion.

For Alicia, this wasn’t just data; it was a personal connection. It was her life. She was managing a household, advocating for her mother, and trying to be both sister and mother to her younger siblings. She encouraged them to speak up when they had problems, recognizing a family pattern of remaining silent. And her story mirrors what many families are living: roughly a third of families seek mental health counseling to cope with stress and trauma, noting the particular toll on children who are growing up in fear.

Building a Foundation for the Future

Today, Alicia’s story is one of resilience and hope. Through MAF’s ALMA program, she gained more than emergency financial assistance: she gained peace of mind, security, and the confidence to plan for her future.

That future includes her dream of becoming a fashion designer, inspired by her 85-year-old great-grandmother from Honduras, who worked with OshKosh B’gosh and still visits San Francisco every six months to sew with Alicia. Through all the challenges, Alicia has learned to hold onto hope while acknowledging pain. She shares her grandmother’s wisdom: “Sometimes, whether we want stuff to happen or not, you just have to be grateful that it happened because maybe that might be a change to your life.”

Alicia is also clear-eyed about what families like hers need most: “I feel like it’s very important for people to, like, speak for themselves.” Finding one’s voice and accessing the right support at the right time can make all the difference between devastation and recovery.

She’s seen this transformation in her own sisters, who are starting to reach out for help at school, breaking the family pattern of silence. “If you have an issue, you know, speak up,” she tells them. “It’s good to speak up even though you might think you might say the wrong thing or whatever it is, but it’s good to just speak up and speak for yourself.”

Through it all, Alicia continues to care for her “zoo” at home, taking care of her family members and many pets, and finding moments of joy and normalcy even in difficult circumstances.

Alicia’s experience shows that sometimes the most powerful thing we can offer someone is a straightforward path, clear communication, and the message: You belong here. We’re with you.

Stand with Alicia, Stand with Immigrant Families

Alicia’s story is proof: when immigrant families get the right support at the right time, they don’t just survive—they can rebuild and thrive.

But we can’t do this alone.

Every family deserves the chance to live with dignity and security. The courage is already there. Families like Alicia’s prove it every day. What’s needed now is action.

If you’re ready to stand with immigrant families, donate to the ALMA Fund today. Your support keeps families together, preserves dignity in crisis, and builds a future where everyone belongs.

You can also make a difference by staying informed about immigration issues, sharing stories like Alicia’s with your network, or exploring partnership opportunities with MAF.

Together, we’re stronger. Together, we stay in the fight.