Imagine being separated from your mother, your sister, your aunt, your friend. Imagine receiving a phone call that the person who has held your family together for decades has suddenly been taken away. For our family, this is not a hypothetical situation. It is our reality.

After more than 25 years in the United States, Zakiya Said now faces the possibility of being separated from her three U.S. citizen children, her extended family, and the community she has devoted so much of her life to serving. We are asking our community to stand with her and help keep our family together.

Zakiya is the mother of three U.S. citizen children. Two of her children are currently pursuing higher education in college, and her youngest child is still in high school. Every opportunity her children have today exists because of the sacrifices she made. She worked tirelessly to provide for them, encourage them, and ensure they could build a brighter future. Their accomplishments are a reflection of her love, determination, and dedication as a mother.

But Zakiya's impact reaches far beyond her immediate family.

For decades, she has been the heart of a large extended family of more than 100 relatives who rely on her. She is the person family members call when they need advice, support, comfort, or help during difficult times. She has welcomed people into her home, cared for children as if they were her own, prepared meals for those in need, and showed up whenever someone needed her. Her kindness has touched generations of family members, friends, and neighbors.

Zakiya has also been deeply involved in Seattle's and Washington DC's Ethiopian and Oromo communities. Through the Ethiopian Muslim Association of Seattle, the Seattle Oromo Community Center, the Washington, D.C. Oromo Community Organization, the DMV Oromo Islamic Center and throughout Seattle's Central District, where she has spent years supporting community members, building relationships, and helping strengthen the bonds that connect families and neighbors.

Anyone who knows Zakiya knows that she puts others before herself. She is compassionate, generous, dependable, and deeply devoted to the people she loves. She has spent her life helping others without expecting anything in return.

Today, her children, family, friends, and community are facing the heartbreaking possibility of losing someone who has been a constant source of love, guidance, and support for more than two decades. The emotional, financial, and personal impact of her absence would be devastating.

Zakiya is not just a name on a legal document. She is a mother whose children need her. She is a family member who has spent decades caring for others. She is a friend, neighbor, mentor, and community member whose presence has made a lasting difference in the lives of countless people.

We, the undersigned, respectfully ask that Zakiya Said's decades of contributions, strong family ties, good moral character, and deep roots in the United States be fully considered. We stand united in support of Zakiya and ask that she be given the opportunity to remain with her family, her community, and the life she has built over the last 25 years.

Please sign this petition by WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3rd to show your support for Zakiya Said and to help keep a mother with her children, a family together, and a valued member of our community where she belongs.