Freedom for Immigrants works to end the isolation of people in detention through an extensive network of volunteers

 

 
 

Freedom for Immigrants supports its network of visitor volunteers by creating and sharing resources to assist them in their advocacy work.

These resources have been located or developed in partnership with people directly affected by the system, their family members and loved ones; visitation program coordinators, volunteers, and advocates in other fields; and community members.

We are continuously updating this resource database.

If you have any questions or suggestions for resources to include on this page, please contact the National Visitation Network Director Rebecca Merton at rmerton@freedomforimmigrants.org.

If you would like to become a visitor volunteer, please apply here. If you are in contact with someone in ICE detention who has requested a visitor or further assistance, please fill out this form.

 

Guide for Visitor Volunteers

Guide for Visitor Volunteers

Guide to Visiting People in Immigration Detention

To combat the isolating experience of immigration detention, communities throughout the United States are establishing volunteer-based visitation groups offering friendship and a connection to the outside world.

Community visitation groups not only transform the hearts and minds of individual visitors by providing them with opportunities to build sustained relationships with persons in immigration detention, but also ensure that persons in immigration detention can maintain family and community ties.

Additionally, visitation groups are often the only consistent community presence in immigrant prisons and jails, and they can provide civilian oversight to a system that has little public accountability.

This continuously updated guide developed by the Freedom for Immigrants network draws upon the experience and knowledge of coordinators, visitors, and advocates around the country.

It provides information and advice for people who visit and support people in immigration detention, covering critical aspects of U.S. immigration policies and and best practices for people working with individuals in the immigration detention system, including the following:

  • History of the U.S. immigration detention system, policies and discrimination  

  • The role of visitor volunteers in dismantling the detention system

  • Reasons to visit and support people in immigration detention and why just visitation is not enough 

Se puede encontrar la versión en español de la guía para voluntarias aquí:

Guía de visitas a personas en centros de detención migratoria/ICE

Another helpful resource, although not specific to visiting people in ICE detention, is Sylvia Rivera Law Project’s Solidarity in Action: A Guide to Visiting Incarcerated Community Members.

We encourage people in Mexico to check out la Guía de Monitoreo de Detención Migratoria put together by el Grupo Impulsor contra la Detención Migratoria y la Tortura.

Guide to Starting and Coordinating Visitation Groups

This parallel guide draws upon the experience and knowledge of people who have started and coordinated visitation groups around the country, presenting a series of steps to undertake when establishing community visitation as well as guidelines for coordinating, including:

  • Differences between formal and informal visitation groups

  • Requesting and participating in community stakeholder visits

  • Recruiting and training visitor volunteers

 

Other Resources to learn more & Support People in Immigration Detention