How You Can Help Get People Freed From Detention
Many thanks to Belle Zars of Mountain View Friends Meeting, Greg Mortimer of the Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund, and Brittany Hurley of the Amistad Law Firm for a powerful and informative presentation on how they are helping some people get freed from detention and how you and your congregation/organization can be an important part of that process.
What is the process for getting people freed?
Many detainees qualify to be freed from detention on bond. However, our current administration is making that as difficult as possible -- indeed, getting out on bond, while it is a right belonging to many, is virtually impossible without legal representation.
That's where the Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund (https://www.coloradoimmigrantjusticefund.org) comes in. CIJF works with skilled, dedicated immigration attorneys who are willing to work for well-below-market fees to help free people from detention. CIJF pairs qualified detainees with attorneys who represent the detainee (free of any cost to the detainee) to get the detainee out of detention on bond; all legal fees are paid by CJIF. The attorneys put together the extensive information needed to support an application for getting freed on bond; they also represent the detainee at the bond hearing and at any appeals or other legal actions (such as a habeus corpus petition) that might be necessary to ensure that the detainee is freed. You can learn more about CJIF and their great work in providing the legal representation needed to get people out of detention in this presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17GiBXf2rQHCu5-Ron2SN3z42dpbsSfGad3iS_jyCvek/edit?slide=id.g40a26f0d85f_0_293#slide=id.g40a26f0d85f_0_293
How can I and my congregation/organization help people get freed?
Several ways!
1. Letters of support/sponsorship.
A critically important part of the application for bond is letters of support and sponsorship from people in the community. In order to grant bond, a judge must find that the applicant will reliably show up for their hearings and will remain in the community until their immigration case is fully resolved. To support such a finding, the motion for bond will include several letters of support and sponsorship from community residents and community organizations that pledge support for the application and promise to ensure that the applicant will show up for their hearings. And people and organizations who are willing to provide letters of support and sponsorship are desperately needed! This is a role that you and your congregation/organization can easily step into. Most ideally, a person or organization who signs a letter of support will have met the bond applicant, and can pledge some financial support, if needed, and will promise to ensure that the applicant goes to their hearings. But a sponsor letter, in this context, is not a pledge to be personally responsible for the applicant's presence or welfare or financial viability; rather, it is part of a demonstration to the judge that the applicant has ties and support in the community and is not a flight risk. Sample letters, showing various levels of acquaintance and support, are attached to this email.
If you are interested in being a person or organization that is willing to provide letters of support for detainees seeking freedom, or if you just have questions, please contact Belle Zars at bellezars@gmail.com.
2. Contribute to CJIF.
In 2026, CJIF has arranged and paid for legal representation for about 80 detainees in the Aurora GEO facility, which has resulted in over 40 people being released from detention. But this work carries a significant cost: CJIF has also spent over $260,000 this year in costs and legal fees. You and your organization can help this vital work by donating to CJIF or having CJIF come speak to your congregation. Because CJIF is largely volunteer-run (only one paid staff person), your donations largely go directly to pay attorneys for detainees. And the more donations CJIF receives, the more detainees will be freed! You can donate to CJIF directly here: https://www.coloradoimmigrantjusticefund.org/donate. And to have someone from CJIF speak to your congregation/organization, please contact Greg Mortimer at greg.mortimer@gmail.com.
3. Visit a detainee.
Many supportive relationships with detainees begin with individuals and groups committing to visit detainees in the Aurora GEO detention center. Casa de Paz organizes a wonderful detainee visitation program; find out more here: https://www.casadepazcolorado.org/visitation-program
4. Contribute to the Immigrant Freedom Fund
The Immigrant Freedom Fund actually pays the bonds for detainees who have been granted bond. You can contribute to their great work here: https://www.immigrantfreedomfund.org/
5. Help support the families of those in detention.
Many people who are seized and put into detention leave behind families who struggle to keep afloat with the loss of a parent and primary financial support. Although it does not help to get folks released from detention, you can help to relieve the terrible burden on their families by joining in the work of the IIN Accompaniment work group and of their partners, Journey With Migrants, by donating to help these families financially: https://www.interfaithimmigrationnetwork.org/care. If you or organization/congregation would like to learn about other ways to support these families, please contact Rob Habiger at rchabiger@gmail.com. You can read about the work of the IIN Accompaniment work group in their report, attached to this email.
