Our city has risen up to defend our immigrant families and community, led by the people who are directly impacted. We’ve heard the stories and seen the videos of people ripped from their families, their communities, their jobs, by masked unidentified agents, and we’ve watched our city menaced by federal troops. These are shocking and scary actions designed to make us afraid and immobilized. You’ve responded instead by stepping up to take action with us, in Downtown and in Pico-Robertson, in your neighborhoods across the city. We’re so glad to have each other for the long road ahead and we will keep sharing ways for folks to get involved in public nonviolent protest.
We know that many of you are looking for other ways to help support our immigrant neighbors. There are many excellent organizations and grassroots groups doing everything from offering pro-bono legal counsel to delivering groceries and coordinating rides. Many of you are already deeply involved in that work.
The writer and activist Rebecca Solnit says, “Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. To hope is to give yourself to the future – and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.”
Join us in hoping with our actions!
If you’re looking for your way in, here is a short list of opportunities to help:
Donate:
Immigrant Bond Fund – Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) In partnership with the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, CLUE is providing detained immigrants in Los Angeles and Orange Counties with the bond money that allows them to get out of detention, and return back to their lives and families while they build a case to gain status.
CHIRLA – The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles, is leading the fight for immigrants in our city with organizing, advocacy, legal training and defense.They need our support now more than ever.
Join a Rapid Response Network:
The SoCal Rapid Response Network activates trained volunteers during ICE raids for legal observation, family support, and neighborhood alerts.
We’re hosting a training session with Shtibl Minyan this Tuesday, July 1, 6-8 PM, at the IKAR Event Space. We’ll hear from Shtibl members who’ve been involved in local rapid response work and ICE patrols, and identify opportunities to organize together for safer communities, including signing up for a rapid response network, canvassing our neighborhoods.
RSVP Required.
Participate in Multi Faith Community Organizing for Immigrants’ Rights:
Our longtime partners, LA Voice and PICO CA are the largest multifaith organizing network in the state. Together with them, our Minyan Tzedek Community Organizing team is mobilizing public protest, prayer vigils, and accompaniment for immigrants, and building power through faith-rooted organizing to create a movement for lasting change.
Our next action with LA Voice will be Wednesday, July 2, 6 PM, for a Prayer Walk from La Placita Olvera to the Metropolitan Detention Center Downtown.
Join our Minyan Tzedek Community Organizing email list.
Join our Minyan Tzedek Community Organizing WhatsApp group for last-minute coordinating and finding carpool partners to events.
If you are an Attorney:
The ABA Commission on Immigration invites volunteers to join our Immigration Court Observation & Awareness Project. This initiative offers attorneys, law students, and members of the public a chance to witness firsthand the challenges noncitizens face in court—and to contribute meaningfully through structured, neutral observation.
Public Counsel mentors attorneys on asylum cases, and may have now a need to place cases. Learn more here. There are many more excellent pro-bono legal NGOs that could use your help. Let us know if you would like help getting connected with them. Email [email protected] to find the right one for you.
We know that these are just a few of the ways we can show up for our immigrant siblings. We’ll be expanding this guide on our website here. If you’d like to share other great organizations with us, lead a team of IKARites to join other efforts, or if you have questions, please email us at [email protected].