A popular social media influencer is teaming up with the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Venezuelan American Caucus to create a local emergency fund to help families who have lost a parent or primary breadwinner to detention or deportation by the federal immigration authorities.
In a statement released Thursday, Carlos Eduardo Espina, a progressive political influencer who boasts nearly 15 million followers on TikTok, donated $50,000 to launch the "Doral Family Emergency Fund."
"I have sat at kitchen tables with thousands of immigrant families across this country, and the fear is always the same: not only that someone will be taken, but what happens to the family the next morning," Espina said. "In Doral, that fear has become real for people who followed every rule."
"I am putting in $50,000 of my own money because these families cannot wait for a court date to feed their children, and I am asking everyone who follows me to stand with them," he said.
Doral's population about 81,000 people, mostly Hispanics and mostly from Venezuela. The city has been dubbed "Doralzuela."
READ MORE: Many Venezuelan immigrants shun Florida and turn to smaller cities in Utah, elsewhere
The fund will give grants of up to $1,000 per household to cover essential expenses such as food, rent, utilities, childcare, medication, and school supplies. Assistance is restricted to families residing in Doral and does not cover legal fees or bond.
"LULAC was founded in 1929 to defend the dignity of Latino families, and dignity begins at the kitchen table," said Roman Palomares, LULAC national president and chairman of the board. "When enforcement actions detain or deport a father and tear a family apart, the children left behind did nothing wrong, and neither did the mother who still has to get to work the next morning."
LULAC will manage the fund's operations, reviewing applications directly submitted through its website within five days to issue rapid aid. Public contributions are also being accepted via GoFundMe through the site, which is available in English and Spanish.
"We built this fund to move fast and help the families most in need," said Juan Proaño, LULAC chief executive officer. "Together, we can make sure a donation made this week becomes groceries and a paid rent notice next week."
Beyond financial relief, the coalition will offer know-your-rights workshops, local resource referrals, and community outreach.
"Many of the families in Doral fled dictatorship and collapse, did everything this country asked of them, and still watched a loved one taken away," noted Adelys Ferro, executive director of the Venezuelan American Caucus. "A child in Doral should not go hungry because her father is in a detention center."
Said Gustavo Rivera, LULAC Florida state president: "When a father is taken from a gas station in Doral, the whole block feels it."
Venezuelans are among tens of thousands of immigrants being detained and deported monthly by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
In July, ICE reported the arrest of nearly 50,000 people, the highest single monthly arrest total during the second Trump administration.
ICE topped that record August when arrests topped 50,000 people, according to figures published by the Department of Homeland Security.
Venezuelan immigrants became especially vulnerable this year after the Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for more than 615,000 migrants from the South American country.
Learn more about how to donate or to apply to the Doral Family Emergency Fund here.
