Immigrant Bail Fund - Sanctuary Streets Bmore
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Sanctuary Streets Baltimore is raising money for detained immigrants in Maryland. All the money goes directly to immigrant families to help bring their loved ones home.
UPDATE 5/04/2019: Again, thanks to your contributions we've been able to help out another individual: Joel*, age 19.
Joel and his siblings were victims of severe abuse by relatives in Honduras as young children. Later, he and his family were targeted by a gang because his sister turned down a gang member's advances. After receiving repeated death threats, they fled to the United States. The family was first held in the Berks "baby jail" in Pennsylvania, and were released after passing a reasonable fear interview. Joel attended high school in Virginia and also worked in construction. He was arrested in summer of 2018 when a car he was riding in was found to be stolen. Although the prosecutor dropped the charges, he was transferred to ICE detention in Maryland, where he has been for the past eight months. He was granted a relatively low bond of $5000 but his single mother was unable to pay more than $1500. Joel's asylum application is pending. Through contacts at the National Bail Fund Network and Joel's attorney, we were able to transfer $3500 to Joel's family. He has been released on bond and he is now home with his family! That makes Joel the 4th community member helped by these funds. As a bonus update: Bradley, who was released in March, has also been able to reenter the previously-mentioned housing program (see below)!
This is all great news. Now, we have identified a fifth individual in need of bail assistance. Carlos* is an immigrant from Guatemala who has been living in the US since 2007. He is a very hard worker and has worked for the same company for 7 years, rising to the position of foreman. The company’s Vice-President has offered Carlos his job back if he is released on bond. Carlos is engaged to a U.S. Citizen who has been on disability since her childhood. Her mother left when she was born, and her father severely abused her from a young age sexually, emotionally, and physically. She does not drive and only has her monthly disability check as income. Carlos’ fiancée relies on him heavily to survive: he takes her to her doctor appointments, pays for all the dental work she needed, and pays the bills. Since Carlos was detained by ICE in December 2018, his fiancée’s living situation has deteriorated significantly. She had to move out of the trailer they had made a home to share a trailer with a lower rent where she sleeps on the sofa. She had to do this in order to have at least some money available each month for her basic living expenses. Currently, she has no money to even get a phone card for Carlos to call her from the immigration jail.
All Carlos wants to do is to marry his fiancée and take care of her. They were planning their wedding when ICE detained him. Once they are married, Carlos and his spouse will be able to file a family visa petition for him to stay in the U.S., but if he does not get released on bond and ICE refuses to let them get married in detention, then Carlos will be deported back to Guatemala. Carlos desperately needs to be released on an immigration bond of $5,000 before his next hearing on June 5. His family has asked for help from the community raising $3000 of that amount. So, if you are able to contribute to that goal, please donate! And please share this page with others who may be able to help out.
UPDATE 3/18/2019: Thanks to your contributions, Bradley*, the young man from El Salvador, has been released from detention and he will be able to continue fighting his case and going about his life. His spouse who is expecting a child with Bradley wanted everyone to know how incredibly thankful she is to everyone who donated. "Que dios los bendiga," she texted us today. We're waiting to hear back from his lawyer at CAIR Coalition to know if he will be able to join the DC multi-year housing program for youth with documented mental health diagnoses.
UPDATE 2/15/2019: We have two updates to share. First, we've been able to help out a second family with the funds raised. Leroy* is a 26 year old from Nigeria who has been living in Baltimore, Maryland for 5 years. He and his US citizen fiancee have been engaged since last winter. They decided to wait and celebrate their wedding this winter, after welcoming their first child together. Unfortunately, Leroy was detained by ICE just weeks after his baby's birth. His detention has been utterly devastating for his family. They have been evicted from their home, and are on the brink of homelessness with no way to afford necessities like heating, clothes, food, and medical care. Thankfully, Leroy was granted a reasonable bond by the immigration judge. With $3000 from our bail fund, we were able to help Leroy reunite with his fiancee and child last week. Leroy's family is deeply thankful for support from the community.
Second, we have identified another eligible recipient who needs bail relief, but we need to raise more funds. Bradley* is a young man from El Salvador who has experienced chronic homelessness and significant mental health episodes after he arrived in the United States seeking asylum and reunion with his father, only to have his father kick him out of the house at age 17. Bradley's father not only kicked him out and withdrew him from school but he also failed to share important immigration court documents with Bradley and Bradley was ordered deported in absentia. Despite these hardships, during his time in the U.S. Bradley has built a strong network of social workers, found a stable U.S. citizen partner with whom he is expecting a child in June, and secured 1 of only 4 coveted spaces in a DC government funded multi-year housing program for youth with documented mental health diagnoses. The week following his acceptance in the housing program, Bradley was arrested in Fairfax, VA and transferred to ICE custody.
The housing program is currently holding Bradley’s space while he is detained and awaiting the opportunity to ask for release on bond. The opportunity to participate in this program cannot be overstated- as characterized by his social worker, Bradley “is at an important crossroad in his life; having worked with at-risk youth for the past 10 years, I know the importance of working from a housing first model.” With stable housing and consistent access to mental health treatment, Bradley will have his first meaningful opportunity to pursue his viable asylum case. However, Bradley has no family in the United States who can help his partner pay a bond and she will struggle raise even a low bond. Again, this case was brought to our attention by our partners at CAIR Coalition. At the time of this writing, we have spent $6500 of the funds raised thus far, and so have less than $3000 available. Bradley's lawyers expect the bond amount to be upwards of $7000, so we need to raise at least $4000. Can you help by donating or sharing this page? As you can see, every contribution makes a difference.
UPDATE 1/31/2019: We want to share with you that the first recipient of (a portion of) the funds raised, Manuel*, has been released from detention and is back with his family. We sent $3500 to Manuel's family-member with which they posted his $5000 bail. (His family contributed their own funds as well.) He is now reunited with his son, his son's mother, and sisters in the DC area. Manuel and his family expressed their gratitude for the community's support.
We have recently identified another eligible individual in detention through our partners, the attorneys at CAIR Coalition. We will update you and the fundraising page again once those funds are transferred and that individual is released, hopefully in the coming days. We will continue to raise funds for future community-members who can benefit from our support, so please continue to donate and share this page.
UPDATE 1/18/2019: Thank you to everybody for your generous donations. Unfortunately, we have not raised sufficient funds to cover Antonio's bail amount. Antonio has elected to end his appeal and accept that he will be deported soon. However, through our partners at CAIR Coalition we have identified another eligible recipient in detention, whose bail amount is lower and can be covered by the funds we've already raised. We are working with this individual's lawyers to transfer the funds and hopefully have him home with his family in the next week. We will update this page as things progress. An immense THANK YOU to everyone who has donated so far. We will continue to raise money for the bail fund for future community-members who are eligible for bail relief, so please continue to share this page with your contacts.
ORIGINAL MESSAGE: Antonio*, a five year Baltimore resident, was wrongly denied asylum, only days before Christmas. If he is deported he may never see his toddler son again and his life will be in danger – but he can only go on fighting on an appeal if he can pay a very high bond of $20,000. His family does not have the means to pay the full amount, so in cooperation with his lawyers at CAIR we are asking for the community’s support in raising $15,000.
If we don’t raise the full amount, Antonio’s lawyers at CAIR say that he will likely lose his case. In the event that this were to happen the money donated will go to our general bail fund so that we can donate to other immigrants being detained who might have a lower bail amount.
*Name changed to preserve anonymity.
IMPORTANT
The entirety of the money raised through this page will be withdrawn to the bank account of one of our volunteers and then transferred to family members of the detained community members, with whom we are in contact via their lawyers at CAIR.
ABOUT US
Sanctuary Streets Baltimore is a group of volunteers, most of whom are immigrants themselves or children of immigrants. For two years now we have been accompanying our immigrant community members to their court dates, ICE or ISAP check ins, or simply to visit a loved one in a detention center. We never claim to be lawyers or social workers; we simply stand in solidarity with out community members by providing logistical and emotional support to those who are faced with our inhumane and complicated immigration system. To get involved with our efforts visit our facebook page.
Artwork: Families Can’t Wait by Josh MacPhee @ justseeds
UPDATE 5/04/2019: Again, thanks to your contributions we've been able to help out another individual: Joel*, age 19.
Joel and his siblings were victims of severe abuse by relatives in Honduras as young children. Later, he and his family were targeted by a gang because his sister turned down a gang member's advances. After receiving repeated death threats, they fled to the United States. The family was first held in the Berks "baby jail" in Pennsylvania, and were released after passing a reasonable fear interview. Joel attended high school in Virginia and also worked in construction. He was arrested in summer of 2018 when a car he was riding in was found to be stolen. Although the prosecutor dropped the charges, he was transferred to ICE detention in Maryland, where he has been for the past eight months. He was granted a relatively low bond of $5000 but his single mother was unable to pay more than $1500. Joel's asylum application is pending. Through contacts at the National Bail Fund Network and Joel's attorney, we were able to transfer $3500 to Joel's family. He has been released on bond and he is now home with his family! That makes Joel the 4th community member helped by these funds. As a bonus update: Bradley, who was released in March, has also been able to reenter the previously-mentioned housing program (see below)!
This is all great news. Now, we have identified a fifth individual in need of bail assistance. Carlos* is an immigrant from Guatemala who has been living in the US since 2007. He is a very hard worker and has worked for the same company for 7 years, rising to the position of foreman. The company’s Vice-President has offered Carlos his job back if he is released on bond. Carlos is engaged to a U.S. Citizen who has been on disability since her childhood. Her mother left when she was born, and her father severely abused her from a young age sexually, emotionally, and physically. She does not drive and only has her monthly disability check as income. Carlos’ fiancée relies on him heavily to survive: he takes her to her doctor appointments, pays for all the dental work she needed, and pays the bills. Since Carlos was detained by ICE in December 2018, his fiancée’s living situation has deteriorated significantly. She had to move out of the trailer they had made a home to share a trailer with a lower rent where she sleeps on the sofa. She had to do this in order to have at least some money available each month for her basic living expenses. Currently, she has no money to even get a phone card for Carlos to call her from the immigration jail.
All Carlos wants to do is to marry his fiancée and take care of her. They were planning their wedding when ICE detained him. Once they are married, Carlos and his spouse will be able to file a family visa petition for him to stay in the U.S., but if he does not get released on bond and ICE refuses to let them get married in detention, then Carlos will be deported back to Guatemala. Carlos desperately needs to be released on an immigration bond of $5,000 before his next hearing on June 5. His family has asked for help from the community raising $3000 of that amount. So, if you are able to contribute to that goal, please donate! And please share this page with others who may be able to help out.
UPDATE 3/18/2019: Thanks to your contributions, Bradley*, the young man from El Salvador, has been released from detention and he will be able to continue fighting his case and going about his life. His spouse who is expecting a child with Bradley wanted everyone to know how incredibly thankful she is to everyone who donated. "Que dios los bendiga," she texted us today. We're waiting to hear back from his lawyer at CAIR Coalition to know if he will be able to join the DC multi-year housing program for youth with documented mental health diagnoses.
UPDATE 2/15/2019: We have two updates to share. First, we've been able to help out a second family with the funds raised. Leroy* is a 26 year old from Nigeria who has been living in Baltimore, Maryland for 5 years. He and his US citizen fiancee have been engaged since last winter. They decided to wait and celebrate their wedding this winter, after welcoming their first child together. Unfortunately, Leroy was detained by ICE just weeks after his baby's birth. His detention has been utterly devastating for his family. They have been evicted from their home, and are on the brink of homelessness with no way to afford necessities like heating, clothes, food, and medical care. Thankfully, Leroy was granted a reasonable bond by the immigration judge. With $3000 from our bail fund, we were able to help Leroy reunite with his fiancee and child last week. Leroy's family is deeply thankful for support from the community.
Second, we have identified another eligible recipient who needs bail relief, but we need to raise more funds. Bradley* is a young man from El Salvador who has experienced chronic homelessness and significant mental health episodes after he arrived in the United States seeking asylum and reunion with his father, only to have his father kick him out of the house at age 17. Bradley's father not only kicked him out and withdrew him from school but he also failed to share important immigration court documents with Bradley and Bradley was ordered deported in absentia. Despite these hardships, during his time in the U.S. Bradley has built a strong network of social workers, found a stable U.S. citizen partner with whom he is expecting a child in June, and secured 1 of only 4 coveted spaces in a DC government funded multi-year housing program for youth with documented mental health diagnoses. The week following his acceptance in the housing program, Bradley was arrested in Fairfax, VA and transferred to ICE custody.
The housing program is currently holding Bradley’s space while he is detained and awaiting the opportunity to ask for release on bond. The opportunity to participate in this program cannot be overstated- as characterized by his social worker, Bradley “is at an important crossroad in his life; having worked with at-risk youth for the past 10 years, I know the importance of working from a housing first model.” With stable housing and consistent access to mental health treatment, Bradley will have his first meaningful opportunity to pursue his viable asylum case. However, Bradley has no family in the United States who can help his partner pay a bond and she will struggle raise even a low bond. Again, this case was brought to our attention by our partners at CAIR Coalition. At the time of this writing, we have spent $6500 of the funds raised thus far, and so have less than $3000 available. Bradley's lawyers expect the bond amount to be upwards of $7000, so we need to raise at least $4000. Can you help by donating or sharing this page? As you can see, every contribution makes a difference.
UPDATE 1/31/2019: We want to share with you that the first recipient of (a portion of) the funds raised, Manuel*, has been released from detention and is back with his family. We sent $3500 to Manuel's family-member with which they posted his $5000 bail. (His family contributed their own funds as well.) He is now reunited with his son, his son's mother, and sisters in the DC area. Manuel and his family expressed their gratitude for the community's support.
We have recently identified another eligible individual in detention through our partners, the attorneys at CAIR Coalition. We will update you and the fundraising page again once those funds are transferred and that individual is released, hopefully in the coming days. We will continue to raise funds for future community-members who can benefit from our support, so please continue to donate and share this page.
UPDATE 1/18/2019: Thank you to everybody for your generous donations. Unfortunately, we have not raised sufficient funds to cover Antonio's bail amount. Antonio has elected to end his appeal and accept that he will be deported soon. However, through our partners at CAIR Coalition we have identified another eligible recipient in detention, whose bail amount is lower and can be covered by the funds we've already raised. We are working with this individual's lawyers to transfer the funds and hopefully have him home with his family in the next week. We will update this page as things progress. An immense THANK YOU to everyone who has donated so far. We will continue to raise money for the bail fund for future community-members who are eligible for bail relief, so please continue to share this page with your contacts.
ORIGINAL MESSAGE: Antonio*, a five year Baltimore resident, was wrongly denied asylum, only days before Christmas. If he is deported he may never see his toddler son again and his life will be in danger – but he can only go on fighting on an appeal if he can pay a very high bond of $20,000. His family does not have the means to pay the full amount, so in cooperation with his lawyers at CAIR we are asking for the community’s support in raising $15,000.
If we don’t raise the full amount, Antonio’s lawyers at CAIR say that he will likely lose his case. In the event that this were to happen the money donated will go to our general bail fund so that we can donate to other immigrants being detained who might have a lower bail amount.
*Name changed to preserve anonymity.
IMPORTANT
The entirety of the money raised through this page will be withdrawn to the bank account of one of our volunteers and then transferred to family members of the detained community members, with whom we are in contact via their lawyers at CAIR.
ABOUT US
Sanctuary Streets Baltimore is a group of volunteers, most of whom are immigrants themselves or children of immigrants. For two years now we have been accompanying our immigrant community members to their court dates, ICE or ISAP check ins, or simply to visit a loved one in a detention center. We never claim to be lawyers or social workers; we simply stand in solidarity with out community members by providing logistical and emotional support to those who are faced with our inhumane and complicated immigration system. To get involved with our efforts visit our facebook page.
Artwork: Families Can’t Wait by Josh MacPhee @ justseeds
Organizer
Daniel Malinsky
Organizer
Baltimore, MD
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