Cielo Rojo, the award-winning Takoma Park restaurant, is asking the community to support a longtime employee who has been separated from her two children following an immigration appointment.
According to Cielo Rojo, Monday would have marked Elizabeth’s seventh anniversary working with the restaurant. The restaurant said she was apprehended during an immigration appointment last week and subsequently separated from her family.
“She has been a loyal, hardworking and devoted employee almost since we opened – working at both restaurants & being a kitchen lead,” Cielo Rojo shared. “The kind of hard working, loving and dedicated person anyone would be lucky to have on their team.” The restaurant said Elizabeth worked at both of its restaurants and was recognized last year as its “most versatile employee” because of her ability to work at several different stations.
Cielo Rojo’s post described Elizabeth as having been deported. A GoFundMe organized by her family states that she is currently being held at a detention center in Louisiana while the family works with an attorney in hopes of reuniting her with her children.
According to the fundraiser, Elizabeth has two children, ages 4 and 15, who are currently being cared for by a family member. “The 4-year-old does not understand what is happening or where their mother is, and that has been especially hard to witness,” the organizer wrote. “Her 15-year-old is doing their best to stay motivated and positive during this difficult time.”
The family said it has retained an attorney to assist with Elizabeth’s case and is raising money to cover legal expenses and other costs associated with the effort to reunite the family.
Cielo Rojo is sharing the fundraiser through its social media accounts and thanked Elizabeth for her nearly seven years with the restaurant.“We want to thank Elizabeth for all the years she dedicated to our team and we send love to her family in this very hard transition,” the restaurant wrote.
