The rapper Chamillionaire is doing everything he can to help the family of a man who was deported.
Jorge Garcia, 39, was deported to Mexico this week after living in the U.S. for 30 years. The story of Garcia’s separation from his family made its way to Chamillionaire, the rapper who gave us classic mid-2000s jams like “Ridin.’” The rapper is now trying to get in contact with Garcia’s family to provide financial support.
Garcia, whose wife and two children are U.S. citizens, arrived illegally to the country when he was 10 years old. He has no criminal record and consistently paid taxes for the past two decades, the Detroit Free Press reported and was a year shy of qualifying for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the program that protects undocumented immigrants.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Garcia on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He could possibly be banned from returning to the U.S. for the next 10 years.
In a video from WXYZ, Garcia is seen crying and holding his family for the last time before ICE agents step up to take him away. “It was a nightmare,” Garcia’s wife Cindy said.
Chamillionaire heard Garcia’s story through the Press and reached out to writer Niraj Warikoo, who covered the deportation. Warikoo shared a screenshot of an email from the rapper on Twitter, where Chamillionaire expressed his desire to get in contact with the Garcia family.
“I’m reaching out to find out if you could possibly connect me with his family?” the rapper wrote. “I’m looking to talk to them to see how I can help with financial support in Jorge’s absence.”
This is not a joke. I actually got an email yesterday from rapper Chamillionaire (of Ridin’ Dirty fame, the song that goes, They see me rollin,’ they hatin’) after he read my story on Jorge Garcia being deported. He wants to help him. pic.twitter.com/ZBJvcbTKRf
— Niraj Warikoo (@nwarikoo) January 18, 2018
Chamillionaire wasn’t thrilled about the publicity that followed the tweet. In a video posted to social media, the rapper explains he emailed Warikoo thinking the conversation would be private and was surprised to find that the email had gone viral on Twitter.
“I never got connected to the family, and now there are a lot of people prematurely praising me and wanting to interview me for caring,” he said.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BeHSUg7F1QW/?hl=en&taken-by=chamillionaire
It’s unclear if he’s been able to get connected to the Garcia family yet, but Chamillionaire—who found success as a rapper, tech entrepreneur, and venture capitalist—is heartwarming proof that some are willing to step up during uncertain times for immigrants and their families.
Warikoo did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.