The son of a Fort Payne woman detained by immigration authorities is fighting to bring her home.

David Miguel says his mother, Micaela Pascual, was detained in early May while trying to renew her work permit. She is now being held in Louisiana and Miguel is fundraising money to try to keep her in the country.

Authorities, he claimed, targeted her for a “self-deportation incident” in 2013.

“At that time, she had five children that she was raising in the U.S.,” Miguel wrote in a GoFundMe post. “What was she supposed to do? Take us with her? Leave us with the government? Of course not, she chose to stay.”

Pascual is one of many undocumented Alabamians detained by immigration officials in recent months.

In June, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained dozens of people at scheduled meetings in Homewood and Gadsden, advocates told AL.com. More and more counties across the state also have signed on to help the agency detain and jail immigrants.

Miguel told WAFF48 News that his mother applied for legal asylum in 2013, but a judge informed her she’d have to leave the country until the documents cleared. She sought a work visa instead, he said. For more than a decade, she had no issues at annual check-ins.

She is now being held at a processing center in southern Louisiana, according to the station.

“They are tearing families apart; ICE took away a mother of six, and she still has an 11-year-old child in the U.S.,” he wrote. “How do you explain to an 11-year-old that ICE took their mother away and that they won’t be able to see her for a while? There isn’t a right way to say it.”’

Pascual came to the U.S. at the age of 19 from Guatemala in search of a better life for her family. Miguel said she has worked hard and paid her taxes, just like any American.

So far, he has raised more than $6,000 of his $10,000 goal, which he plans to use for legal expenses. If his mother is ultimately deported, he hopes to be able to help her set up a life in Guatemala, “where she has very few resources,” he said.

“She is a great example of an immigrant who came here to work and contribute to society. However, the government doesn’t see her that way; they don’t recognize her as a dedicated worker, a mother, or a human being. Instead, they only see an illegal immigrant.”