I want to share with all of you, "My Why.”

Why my husband and I chose to live apart and why I chose to fight for the American Families United Act, HR 2366, and for the members of our communities that lack status.

substack.com/@juliemoreno...

We just got an update from the New Jersey Department of Health that the WIC program, which provides food and nutrition support for 165,000 women and children across our state, only has enough funds to help families for two more weeks.

"Pope Leo told U.S. bishops visiting him at the Vatican on Wednesday that they should firmly address how immigrants are being treated by President Donald Trump's hardline policies."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

U.S Citizen Julie Moreno Returned to the United States Today, Preparing for Years of Separation from Her Husband Now in Mexico

Full press release below.

Please share this story to that we can raise urgent awareness about this issue. And if you or someone you know is in a situation similar to Julie, please reach out to American Families United for support from people who truly understand what you're going through - and can help.

AFU is made up of couples just like Julie and Nef. We know what these families go through.

But we’ve never seen anything like this.

Ever.

We desperately need Americans on both sides of the aisle to sit up and pay attention to the harm we are doing to citizens and their spouses.

Julie is not the only AFU member grappling with this decision. Many of our members are forced to consider family separation like Julie and Nef.

Some are even choosing to leave the country with their spouses and live abroad due to the lack of legal pathways for their husbands and wives.

All we want is for families in the United States to be together, for our family to be together. I love this country, but I don’t recognize it anymore. I feel like I’m being pushed out, as well. My relationship with this country feels like a one way street.”

After landing at Newark Airport, Julie said “I am relieved for his sake. But now that I’m back in the United States, I have no idea what my life will be like without him everyday. I know that we made the right decision, but in my gut I also feel really angry.

Before Nef relocated to Mexico last week—a process sometimes called self-deportation—the couple had been pursuing ways for Nef, who has no criminal history, to get legal status. But the immigration system left them with no options.

“Nef is a generous and devoted husband. We’re different in a lot of ways, but we agree on what’s right and wrong. And he always puts me first,” Julie said.

(photo from their goodbye at airport in MX this morning)

Contrary to popular myth, marrying a citizen does not guarantee someone a green card or a pathway to citizenship, forcing couples to decide between living in fear or living apart.

Julie and Nef, who have been married for nearly a decade, are just one of over a million mixed-status couples in the United States—couples where one person is a U.S. citizen and the other person could face sudden deportation.

“As a citizen, I was living under constant threat by my own government, and I can see the human rights abuses of people like my husband,” Julie said. “I no longer feel free in my own country and I was worried above all about Nef’s safety.”

Julie Moreno returned from Mexico today after spending the past week helping her husband, Nef, relocate to Mexico rather than live in constant fear of arrest, prolonged detention, and forced deportation.

I've never seen anything like this in the history of American Families United. 💔

Please read this heartbreaking story of one of our deeply loved members and leaders, Julie Moreno, who just landed back in New Jersey this afternoon from a trip to Mexico.

Here's her story... 🧵 (Then please amplify.)

New: a federal judge in Chicago has set a 2 pm detention hearing today for Marimar Martinez, the woman border patrol shot on Saturday, along with her co-defendant Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz.

Both now face charges for allegedly assaulting federal agents.

Harmeet Dhillon (DOJ) publicly targeted this judge on Twitter a couple weeks ago.

“I have to believe that most Americans, when they see someone suffering at the hands of their own government, they would not support that, right? So let’s get the story out there.” - Ashley DeAzevedo, Exec Dir of AFU

austinkocher.substack.com/p/listen-to-...

Family detention is back. RAICES Texas is providing legal support and advocacy for families with children as young as infants inside these jail-like conditions. Join me Tuesday at 1pm for an in-depth conversation with Faisal and Javier.

us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...