20 Ways You Can Help Immigrants Now
Immigrant children are dying in federal custody. Children in detention are being denied basic supplies like soap and blankets—and the . Trump threatened then across the country, using the plan as a , while families are left in an ever-heightened state of uncertainty.
While Congress is continually being called to act, you can take other kinds of actions to help immigrants in transition, in detention, and in crisis. Here are 20 ways.
1. March and protest. outside of an army base and former internment camp at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where migrant children will likely soon be housed, setting an example of how people can show up and speak out.
2. The event aims to “bring thousands of Americans to detention camps across the country, into the streets and into their own front yards to protest the inhumane conditions faced by refugees.”
3. Helping is one of the fastest ways to help those who have been separated from their children, advocates say. paid if the person shows up for their court appearance.
4. Help pay for immigration counsel. Find organizations by Googling “indigent immigration defense” along with your state’s name.
5. Host an asylum-seeker or refugee in your home, with a group like .
6. Immigration is federal law, but all politics are local. Tell your local law enforcement and government officials not to partner with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for raids or any other purpose.
7. People of significant financial means could play a more active role funding nonprofit organizations that directly serve immigrants and advocate for legal reforms. Philanthropists can fund case management, human rights watchdog groups, research that drives policy, or higher education programs and scholarships for social workers who specialize in immigrant support services. The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy has several articles on .
8. Support local and national groups working to help immigrants, like , , and the . Local groups often hold community demonstrations and provide sanctuary, transportation, court accompaniment, and resettlement programs to immigrant populations, and they are in need of volunteers. Contact a local group and ask them what they need most.
9. Create a fundraiser. Immigrant Families Together offers a long list of on its site, ranging from movie nights to silent auctions.
10. ActBlue Charities is a registered organization formed to democratize charitable giving. It provides a list of reputable organizations that work to .
11. Volunteer locally to mentor and tutor English-language learners. By teaching English as a second language, you can help people navigate American culture more successfully.
12. Join a pen pal or visitation program for detained immigrants, such as the ones run by of New Jersey and New York.
13. Immigrant-focused groups are creating resources to if confronted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Learn these rules and share them widely in your neighborhood and online.
14. Use art, music, social media, conversation, and other expressions and connections to draw attention to these issues.
15. If you work in education, create school curricula to help young people learn about human and, specifically, immigrant rights. offers learning materials that facilitate the exploration of topics like race and immigration in the classroom and “explore the value of a diverse society.”
16. Donate air miles. is one group that contributes airline miles and funds to people in border shelters. This enables those who have achieved asylum to leave and makes space for new arrivals.
17. Donate household goods. Organizations like the and give people the basic supplies they need to establish a new life in the U.S.
18. If you can go to the border, you can join many others taking direct action there, from and lawyers to those leaving in the desert for immigrants.
19. Explore how we got here. To learn more about how the U.S. government can respond to the border crisis and the root causes of migration and displacement in the Northern Triangle (the Central American countries Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala feeding much of the migration), check out this from Human Rights First and other organizations. A few of the recommendations for the U.S. are “restoring timely and orderly” asylum processing at ports of entry and an increase in permitted refugees, immigration judges, and case management services for immigrants (such as the Family Case Management Program, which was in 2017).
20. Finally, do like the current Shut Down Child Prison Camps Act and Families Not Facilities Act. Or tell your senators and representatives to to the government agencies responsible for the rise in detentions.
What other actions can you take? Remember to practice self-care and do what you can, today.