Deported
A GoFundMe Studios Original Production
“June 12 of 2017 was when our nightmare came true.”
30 years ago, teenage Jacques Mirachian was brought to the US by family escaping the civil war in Lebanon. He applied for asylum but was denied. He couldn’t return to his war-torn country, so he took the risk and overstayed his visa. Meanwhile, he met the love of his life, Zara. They married, had three kids, and built a life together. But 20 years later on June 12, 2017, their world suddenly turned upside-down.
Jacques and Zara’s two younger children had just gotten home from school when a strange car pulled up behind them in the driveway.
“My sister came running upstairs and said, ‘Get up, get up, you have to get up. They’re taking Dad!’” says his older daughter, Sarinne.
The immigration agents entered the Mirachian home, handcuffed Jacques, and took him to federal prison—where he would be held for 10 months, only able to communicate with his family through a glass barrier.
On April 19, 2018, with just a few hours’ notice, Jacques was put on a plane and sent back to Lebanon, a country he barely knew and had never lived in as an adult. He is banned from reentering the US for 10 years. Until then, he won’t be able to see his family unless they visit Lebanon, and it’s unlikely that he’ll ever be able to live in their country again.
As Jacques tries to start a new life in a new country, his family struggles to pick up the pieces and make ends meet now that he’s gone.
“Income has gone down, but expenses have gone up,” says Zara. “It’s hard to keep up when you have two incomes, but it’s a lot harder when it’s just yourself.”
Sarinne could see how hard her mother was working to keep the family afloat amid her grief. “I was just trying to think, ‘What do I know? What can I do to help her?’”
So Sarinne started a GoFundMe to help her mom provide for their family and support her dad’s new life in Lebanon. In just a few months, she was able to raise over $10,000 to help her family.
“Already what has been donated is an extreme amount of help to us,” says Zara. “It’s been a matter of people opening their hearts.”
Now, Sarinne’s GoFundMe continues to raise money to support her mom and help her family get back on its feet.
Special thanks to the Mirachian family.
