As our communities continue to be attacked, RISE has now joined forces with the Western Maryland Immigrant Rights Collective. Together, we are committed to supporting not only the Frederick community but also the Western Maryland Community. Stay connected by following the Western MD IRC on Instagram @wmd_irc.
RISE is a diverse coalition of community activists and organizations and are led by immigrant members whose families are under attack by ICE. We formed in 2017 to end 287(g) agreements and have built community power and defended immigrants’ rights thru mutual aid, political education and organizing. We’ve won multiple grassroots campaigns to get more public resources and political representation for our immigrant neighbors in West Frederick. Follow us on our facebook page @RISE Coalition of Western Maryland.
Nearly every day, neighbors in our community are being abducted by ICE and torn apart from their families. Even before Trump thousands had been deported thru Frederick County’s 287(g) cooperation agreement with ICE that deputizes local law enforcement as ICE. But since Trump, in addition to 287(g), ICE is arresting our neighbors driving to work, attending court hearings and from their homes. This moment demands that we take care of each other and see ourselves in the desperation and unimaginable terror faced by so many neighbors. Contributing to this mutual aid fund is a critical and impactful way to show solidarity for our neighbors under attack.
RISE will use this general fund of mutual aid to distribute to particular families in our community who are in crisis after a family member has been abducted by ICE or other federal immigration enforcement agents. Our steering team, comprised of allies and immigrant community leaders who are directly impacted, will identify and vet families to support. We intend to share out on this page the stories of those families we choose to direct funds to. Funds will go toward helping families meet emergency costs in the wake of losing their breadwinner. These funds will help families feed their children, pay electric bills and avoid eviction and generally stay afloat in impossible desperate circumstances. The amount distributed to each family will depend on each case and their specific needs. Since we are only a coalition of volunteer community members and not a non-profit, we will not be receiving applications or have a formal process for those seeking help, but instead will rely on word of mouth within our informal community networks.
We are fiscally sponsored by Open Minds, Inc. a local non profit 501c3.