Immigrant Mother Seeks Refuge In Chicago As Daughter Is Detained

CHICAGO, IL — A mother and her three daughters traveled more than 2,000 miles with the hope that they would find asylum in the United States. Maritza Flores and her daughters were escaping violence in El Salvador, according to a GoFundMe post. They crossed over the U.S. border in a caravan with other migrants from Central America in a notoriously dangerous trip. While the rest of the family made it to Chicago, Maritza's oldest daughter has been detained in Texas.

President Donald Trump has harshly criticized such immigrants, and continues to demand that they not be granted entry into the U.S.

Chicago residents Liz Gres and Pete DeMay, of McKinley Park, decided to take in the Flores family, according to the GoFundMe post.

"For wanting the simple things that every family should have - safety, a home, food on the table and some peace of mind, they have been subjected to vicious attacks and threats from our current administration," the post read.

Gres and DeMay are trying to raise $10,000 for the Flores family to get their feet on the ground and pay for legal and procedural fees, according to the post.

"Let's show Maritza and her family that they've got a community pulling for them and that they are welcome and wanted here," Gres wrote in the post. "My family agreed to be the sponsors for Maritza and her family so that they wouldn't have to wait out their asylum process in a detention center."

The oldest Flores daughter, 18, remains separated from the rest of the family, but the family was working on getting her released and reunited with her mother and siblings, Gres said.

After her father was killed, Flores said gang members threatened to hurt her daughters if she didn't follow orders, according to a report by the Chicago Tribune. She fled to Guatemala and Mexico, but threats from the Central American gang continued, according to the report.

As of Wednesday, the post had raised more than $7,500.

Image via Patch partner GoFundMe