Mutual Aid Immigration Network
Donation protected
We are Barnett Cohen and Daniella Ponet. We are immigrants' rights activists. We run a hotline for people stuck in the for-profit immigration detention system.
On any given day, life in the many immigration detention centers across the United States is terrible. People detained routinely experience physical and sexual assaults (often by the guards paid to "protect" them), racialized discrimination, and retaliatory deprivation practices such as placing people in solitary confinement. Right now, because of COVID, life inside is absolutely terrifying. Because ICE refuses to release people detained starting with the most vulnerable, The Geo Group & CORECIVIC–the publicly traded companies that own/operate most of detention centers–are sanitizing the centers every 15-20 minutes with HDQ, an industrial strength bleach. There is no adequate ventilation so people detained therefore experience severe allergic reactions to the bleach such as asthma attacks, bloody noses, serious skin rashes. If they protest the conditions, they are met with pepper spray and rubber bullets. If and when we protest the conditions in-person, the guards lockdown the centers for weeks on end, curtailing showers, phone calls, and legal meetings.
While we strongly encourage you to contact elected officials and demand they hold ICE accountable , we are raising $10000 to give to people inside in $25 increments. People need funds to purchase PPE (like, soap), food (because the food is often spoiled), and money to call their families. To make money, GEO & CORECIVIC often pay people one dollar per day to labor as janitors, kitchen staff, barbers, and painters. To add insult to injury, they fail to pay them.
Our campaign is in direct alliance with the BLM movement to defund and abolish the police and carceral state. ICE is just another name for state-sanctioned violence against largely BIPOC & LGBTQ people.
Your donation will go directly to improving the lives of people stuck in the for-profit immigration detention system. Your donation will enable us to keep our hotline running so we can better advocate for those folks stuck inside.
On behalf of everyone that we serve, thank you!
FAQ
How does it work?
Our hotline number is passed around centers and people call the number and ask for help and funds. It costs us approximately $60 per month to operate the hotline.
How much do you give?
We give each person $25 per month.
How do you decide who gets money?
We give to anyone that asks.
Are you a non-profit?
No. Donations are not tax-deductible.
Am I able to see receipts?
Yes, absolutely. We use a variety of cash-transfer services (e.g. Western Union) to send the funds and all services provide receipts.
On any given day, life in the many immigration detention centers across the United States is terrible. People detained routinely experience physical and sexual assaults (often by the guards paid to "protect" them), racialized discrimination, and retaliatory deprivation practices such as placing people in solitary confinement. Right now, because of COVID, life inside is absolutely terrifying. Because ICE refuses to release people detained starting with the most vulnerable, The Geo Group & CORECIVIC–the publicly traded companies that own/operate most of detention centers–are sanitizing the centers every 15-20 minutes with HDQ, an industrial strength bleach. There is no adequate ventilation so people detained therefore experience severe allergic reactions to the bleach such as asthma attacks, bloody noses, serious skin rashes. If they protest the conditions, they are met with pepper spray and rubber bullets. If and when we protest the conditions in-person, the guards lockdown the centers for weeks on end, curtailing showers, phone calls, and legal meetings.
While we strongly encourage you to contact elected officials and demand they hold ICE accountable , we are raising $10000 to give to people inside in $25 increments. People need funds to purchase PPE (like, soap), food (because the food is often spoiled), and money to call their families. To make money, GEO & CORECIVIC often pay people one dollar per day to labor as janitors, kitchen staff, barbers, and painters. To add insult to injury, they fail to pay them.
Our campaign is in direct alliance with the BLM movement to defund and abolish the police and carceral state. ICE is just another name for state-sanctioned violence against largely BIPOC & LGBTQ people.
Your donation will go directly to improving the lives of people stuck in the for-profit immigration detention system. Your donation will enable us to keep our hotline running so we can better advocate for those folks stuck inside.
On behalf of everyone that we serve, thank you!
FAQ
How does it work?
Our hotline number is passed around centers and people call the number and ask for help and funds. It costs us approximately $60 per month to operate the hotline.
How much do you give?
We give each person $25 per month.
How do you decide who gets money?
We give to anyone that asks.
Are you a non-profit?
No. Donations are not tax-deductible.
Am I able to see receipts?
Yes, absolutely. We use a variety of cash-transfer services (e.g. Western Union) to send the funds and all services provide receipts.
Organizer
Barnett Cohen
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
