On today’s anniversary of my grandparents’ execution, I’m thinking about two-year-old Angel and his big brother Bryan, who don’t understand why they can’t live with both parents anymore.

Their mother, a vocal immigrants’ rights leader, was forced to enter sanctuary with Angel and Bryan in a desperate attempt to keep her family together after her temporary stay of deportation was revoked and her appeal was denied. Soon after, the boys’ father was detained by officials and held for weeks in an apparent act of retaliation against the family despite his having no previous contact with ICE.

These two young boys miss their father terribly; Angel bangs on the church window at night, calling for his “papa.”

This is the new normal in Trump’s America for far too many children. It reminds me of the story I heard about my father, who when he was about the same age as Angel, asked his mom on his first prison visit with her, “Why you no come home?”

We can’t reunite Angel and Bryan’s family, but with your aid, the Rosenberg Fund for Children can make sure the boys attend daycare and go to camp in supportive environments this summer.

Please make a tax-deductible contribution now to help these little boys and dozens of other children who need our assistance.

The RFC has already awarded almost $200,000 to targeted activists’ kids and youth activists in 2018. Even partially funding many requests, we went $15,000 over our budget this spring because we just couldn’t say no to the dozens of families desperate for support. But without your extra help to close that gap, we’ll have less to spend in the fall when even more demands will come our way.

We need all our supporters to dig deep and donate today so we can continue to provide this vital assistance. Together, we’re making a real difference in the lives of these youngsters whose parents resist despite reprisals.

In addition to Angel and Bryan, and kids from several more immigrant families who’ve been torn apart, the RFC is currently helping more than 70 children and youth, including:

• A seven-year-old boy whose mom created a restaurant and community garden to feed homeless and low-income residents in a food desert. She was forced out of the space where she had invested her life savings as the community gentrified and new neighbors became “uncomfortable” with her clientele.
• A nine-year-old girl whose mother is the point person for OURWalmart in her state. In retaliation for her efforts to ensure fair working practices, she faced bullying and harassment on the job, had her hours cut to part-time, and then was fired, causing her family significant financial and emotional strain.
• Two young activists; one is a J20 defendant arrested for protesting Trump’s inauguration. They experienced threats of violence from alt-right groups after their personal information was shared online and faced up to 75 years in prison for the peaceful protest. The other is an anti-police brutality activist targeted by cops who threatened his family.

Our recipients’ stories are tragic, but your assistance lets these young people know they’re not alone. They're part of a nurturing community like the one so many of you, and your parents and grandparents, fought to create for my dad and uncle when their parents were ripped from them.

On June 19th, 1953, my grandparents lost their lives due to the anti-communist hysteria of the McCarthy era. Today, our beneficiary families are also at great risk.

Please show these families that you stand with them by making a tax-deductible contribution to the RFC today.

I know you will be most generous.

-Jennifer Meeropol
RFC Executive Director & granddaughter of Ethel & Julius Rosenberg