Editor’s note: Since this article was written, a judge in Aurora has granted a new bond hearing for Manuelo based on changed circumstances. His hearing will be held on Monday, December 10 at 8:30AM CT. Manuelo* has lived in the United States for 21 years, since the age of 13…

Two mothers whose families faced violence and extortion in Central America explain why they risked everything to take a perilous journey to the United States to build new lives here. The 15-year old son of one of them shares his experiences as well. (Video provided courtesy of Julie Schwietert Collazo, co-founder of Immigrant Families Together.)

Raul is a husband and father of four children who has been mercilessly detained by ICE since March 2017. He has lived in the U.S. for over 28 years. Shortly after the termination of its contract with the West County Detention Facility in Richmond, CA, ICE transferred Raul and many…

This is Anna’s* story, as told to me in a series of translated emails. Anna, whose baby is due next week, urgently needs to raise funds for her husband’s bail. Please visit her GoFundMe page and contribute what you can! https://www.gofundme.com/fianza-de-inmigrante My baby — a son — is due on…

While visiting Friendship Park in Tijuana in August, I saw a man on a cell phone looking bewildered. When I approached him, he asked me for the name of the park. He was talking to his wife in San Diego, trying to describe where he was. Running the length of…

While visiting Tijuana recently with a group of advocates, I spent an entire morning in Little Haiti. Consisting of a couple dozen ramshackle, half-built homes and trash-filled gullies, Little Haiti is nestled in an arid, desolate area known as Scorpion Canyon, accessible only by a one-lane dirt road. …

Miguel Perez’ story made headlines earlier this year when the decorated U.S. Army veteran and legal permanent resident was deported to Mexico. Perez, who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and suffers from PTSD, moved to the U.S. as a child. He was turned over to ICE after completing…

The sketches and art featured below were collected over the past year from immigrants formerly detained at the Cibola County Detention Center in Grants, NM. They come to us courtesy of the Program for Access to Legal Services, which is a joint project between the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center (NMILC) and the Santa Fe Dreamers Project. The Program provides pro bono legal services to low-income communities.

Recently, I interviewed Vasudha Talla, Staff Attorney for the American Civil Liberties Foundation of Northern California, about her current work around immigrant detention — and what keeps her up at night. Cindy Knoebel: I understand that you’re actively involved in detention and immigration issues. Can you talk more about this? …