We are thrilled to announce that Omar, from Colombia, was released from detention last week and was finally reunited with his wife and daughter!

We want to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who made this possible. Thank you to all your generosity and all the other people and organizations that offered their support and stood with Omar and his family throughout this process.

We also want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers who have faithfully accompanied detained individuals and their families during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. From the bottom of our hearts, we are grateful. Your compassion, dedication, and unwavering support have brought hope and made a real difference in the lives of many families!

Here's a little reflection I wrote about their reunion.

It is hard to describe the myriad of emotions I felt as we inched our way through the sea of taillights in rush-hour traffic all the way down to Tacoma. The bebé (as her mother calls her), with sparkly eyes and an indomitable smile, was oblivious to what awaited her. It was a sorpresa. Mami sat in the back seat, nerviosa. Could this actually be happening?

Omar had been released. After four months and four days - what felt like a lifetime - he was finally free from the detention hellhole. In one breath, I felt the thrill of his liberation alongside the ache of all his family had suffered. Unnecessarily. Cruelly. Illegally. The crushing weight of injustice looms large even in the face of our resistance.

My husband shepherded the car slowly and patiently down I-5 while I tended to the two passengers in the back seat. Bebé enjoyed the snacks I packed, imbibing uvas (grapes) and Coca-Cola and crooning along to YouTube videos on her mother's phone. I chatted awkwardly through Google Translate, though words were swallowed by the sheer immensity of the moment. Finally, we reached the meeting spot where Omar was waiting. What transpired next was heartrending in the most achingly beautiful way.

A reunion.

A little girl reunited with her father.

A wife reunited with her husband.

A family now back in each other's arms once again.

The ride home was glorious. Now three passengers in back instead of two. The void now filled. Waves of relief and joy washed across their faces as we drove towards home. They would sleep well tonight. Instead of the thin cot, crammed elbow to elbow with 150 others in a single cell, Omar would lie in his own bed and rest his head on his own pillow. Instead of waking at 1:30 in the morning with anxious thoughts spinning, trying to figure out how they would survive, Mami could now reach for her husband for comfort. All I could muster was, "No puedo imaginarlo." The imaginable now made the unimaginable much more potent.

Yet gratitude and joy persisted, bubbling up around the edges of horrors endured—as we imagined Omar's homecoming. Even God was excited, painting a sunset so stunning across the sky as if to say, "Bienvenido a casa." Welcome home.