Immigrant Families Together

The Future Of Immigrant Families Together

Dear Friends:

We founded Immigrant Families Together in 2018 as a response to the zero tolerance policy that resulted in the separation of thousands of asylum-seeking families. In the six and a half years since then, we have remained committed to our mission and our approach, and we have served thousands of asylum seekers through our bond and reunification program, detention program, and border support program.

When IFT started in June 2018, we avoided becoming a 501c3 (in other words, an official nonprofit recognized by the IRS) because Francisco and I came from the nonprofit world -- and left it because of the bureaucracy and constraints it imposes on doing the real, direct service work we wanted to do, and the work that has greatest impact. However, between June and December of that year, we raised one million dollars and our accountant strongly advised us to establish IFT as a 501c3 in order to provide donors and the general public with full accountability and transparency. We were so in the weeds of the work that we didn't research other possibilities in depth, and decided that the path of least resistance and of greatest responsibility was to follow the accountant's advice. It also made financial sense from a fundraising perspective: We had many institutional and private donors who could or would only make a significant donation if they could take advantage of the tax benefits that nonprofit organizations can confer. We didn't want to leave money that could help asylum seekers on the table.

Almost seven years later, we have made the decision to dissolve IFT as a formal nonprofit. It is a decision that we have not made lightly nor hastily -- it was made, in fact, long before last week's House passage of the anti-nonprofit bill that will target organizations doing any work deemed to be inconsistent with the government's interests -- and with the new administration, it's clear that our work is exactly that kind of work.

But even before the bill, we were assessing other realities that have impacted our ability to do the work that is so important to us. The very cost of maintaining charitable compliance is exorbitant. This year alone, we have paid $17,892.00 in fees related to an obligatory annual audit reviews and charitable registration in all 50 states. Some years it has been nearly $25,000. This is money that fuels what is effectively and rightfully referred to as the nonprofit industrial complex.

And we have decided to opt out of it.

At the same time, a series of other challenges has reduced our operating capital, challenges that include donor fatigue and changes in social media-based fundraising. Considered together, it makes sense to us to disburse our assets to another nonprofit aligned with our values and mission. We want -- as we have always wanted -- for as much of every donor dollar as possible to go to direct service. The selected organization will be announced by the end of the year and assets transfer will be overseen by IFT's attorney and accountant. We have already deactivated our donation channels, including those on this website and on social media, GoFundMe, Fidelity, Benevity, among others.

For many of you, this news may come as a shock or a disappointment. We hope you understand that our commitment remains unwavering. The "we" of IFT aren't going anywhere! In fact, this decision frees us to be more flexible and responsive, active and engaged in our own personal ongoing advocacy and support of asylum-seeking families. Now, we'll be free from the burdens imposed by participating in the nonprofit industrial complex. And it's a decision that fills us with renewed energy -- which we all need as we gather ourselves to face the coming attacks on immigrant communities.

Thank you for your support over these years. We couldn't -- and can't -- do this without you.

128 Bonds Paid = $1,205,000

This is the beginning of our work

IFT is one of the most comprehensive organizations meeting the needs of immigrant families. We also provide support and resources to the families we've reunited:

Legal Counsel
Medical
Housing
Food Security
Transportation
Clothing
PPE
ESL (English) Classes
Post Secondary Financial Aid for Tuition and Books

In addition we have programs for:

Assistance to volunteers and partners on the border, primarily in El Paso, who are serving those affected by the Remain in Mexico, Migrant Protection Protocols.
Detention Support which expands work in detention prisons by providing funding for pro-bono legal services in rural Pennsylvania.

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Your support is crucial.

Every dollar counts!

Split at the Root

SPLIT AT THE ROOT | Theatrical Trailer

SPLIT AT THE ROOT follows the emotional journey of mothers separated from their children at the U.S. border and the grassroots initiative that, against all odds, reunites those families. When a Guatemalan mother seeking asylum was separated from her kids under Zero Tolerance Policy, a Facebook post by a mother in Queens coalesced into a movement as thousands of like-minded women across the US refused to stand by quietly. Immigrant Families Together was born as a rapid response group committed to doing what the government couldn’t—or wouldn’t do: reunite parents with their children separated by the Zero Tolerance Policy. Over four years, IFT reunited hundreds of families. Over 2,000 children's reunification status are still unknown, and thousands of people impacted by separations are still suffering the effects of pursuing asylum.

New York Times Critic’s Pick

“Split at the Root” is a powerful lens into the emotional plight of the thousands of immigrants who cross the border into the United States, the danger they are fleeing and the people trying to help them.”

Meet The Director

Linda Goldstein Knowlton tells what’s different about the narrative of family separation in Split at the Root.

Corporate Partners Making a Difference

Bombas

gofundme.org

Penzeys

Bombas touched the lives of over 1000 immigrants from toddlers to adults with a donation of 5000 pairs of socks to our partners on the border in El Paso, TX. In 2023 they have pledged 14,000 pairs of socks.

Penzeys

gofundme.org

Penzeys

Penzeys is making the world a better place by partnering with us to provide spices and seasonings for shelters on the border serving meals to migrants and their families.

gofundme.org

GoFundMe.org is proud to announce that Immigrant Families Together is a $1000 recipient of a COVID -19 grsnt

What's Coming in 2023

We are so grateful to those of you who have supported IFT with a donation in 2022, especially as this year has brought unprecedented fundraising challenges. With inflation impacting most folks' budgets and calls for donor support coming from all issues and all over the globe, it's been a challenging year for non-profits dependent upon fundraising to literally keep their lights on and services going.

We are proud that in 2022, we were able to fund $100,000 worth of legal services that resulted in a 99% success rate of non-deportation and pay 4 bonds. Release from detention prisons without bond is possible with legal representation.

We are also proud that we have been able to mobilize a humanitarian aid rapid response to the cold weather crisis creating challenges at the southern border, providing hot food, clothing, and hygiene items to asylum seekers awaiting entry into the United States in the El Paso area. The shelters we support provide stability and safety for migrant families while they prepare to join their friends and families elsewhere. We hope to continue supporting these projects throughout 2023.

In addition to these 2 main projects, we couldn't be more proud to announce our ESL program is entering it's 3rd year.

2022

Immigrant Families Together is excited to announce that we have completed our process of discernment about our 2022 focus, goals, and work.

Partners and colleagues in immigration advocacy led us in this intensive process, informing us with their assessments about greatest unmet needs, as well as overlooked fronts where immigration enforcement and detention will be playing out in the coming year. We are grateful for their guidance, time, labor, and expertise in leading us through this period of discernment.

After reflecting deeply on these conversations, we have arrived at the decision to make a bold commitment to the support of and justice for women and girls who will be imprisoned in a detention center for females that is opening in 2022 in Pennsylvania.

This focus expands upon the detention support program that we launched at the end of 2019, and seeks to make a dramatic, tangible impact by supporting local attorneys and activists who have been engaged in the long-term, intersectional labor of challenging the systemic and structural abuses of immigration detention.

What this means specifically is:

IFT is funding the full annual salary of a full-time immigration attorney to represent detained women and girls. This will be a part of a new program dedicated to women's defense, adding capacity to the existing capabilities of our colleagues at Aldea - The People's Justice Center.

IFT is funding the full annual salary of a full-time assistant who will support this attorney representing detained women and girls. This is also a new staff position.

IFT will be guided by our colleagues at Aldea - The People's Justice Center to scale up a detention support program for the women and girls imprisoned at the Pennsylvania detention center. This program will include the consistent, adequate provision of hygiene products and food. Without this support, detained women and girls would be all but required to participate in the detention facility's "volunteer" program, which pays ONE DOLLAR PER DAY for their labor. At that rate, a woman or girl would need to work A FULL WEEK or longer to buy just one small bottle of shampoo.

IFT will collaborate with Aldea - The People's Justice Center to disseminate information that keeps supporters up-to-date about the detention of asylum- seeking women and girls, and to offer opportunities to engage in advocacy and activism around this urgent issue.

In addition to these new commitments, we will continue to provide support to the families for whom we posted bond both during and after the 2018 zero tolerance policy that resulted in the separation of thousands of families. To date, we have paid 124 bonds, totaling more than $1.18 million. The majority of the families for whom we posted bond are now self-supporting and are proceeding through their asylum cases before the immgiration court, though we continue to cover legal, housing, and grocery costs for some families. In addition, the ESL program we launched in 2021 is going strong, having just launched Level 2, which students attend three nights per week. We continue to provide case management support and COVID relief services to families and to border partners, which include regular shipments of PPE and information and support for accessing and receiving vaccines.

How We are Helping

Immigrant Families Together Foundation initially formed as a group of volunteers in June 2018 in reaction to the zero tolerance policy that separates families at the border. We are dedicated to reuniting and supporting families separated at the US/Mexico border.

Since then, we incorporated in December 2018, received 501 (c)3 status in February 2020 and we:

• Posted bond for 128 adults and reunited them with their families (bonds have ranged from $1,500 to $40,000).

• Provide ongoing support -- legal counsel, housing, groceries, clothing, healthcare on an as-needed basis -- for families to live a stable life without becoming a public charge.

• Provide support to partners on the border who meet immediate needs of asylum seekers affected by the Migrant Protection Protocols.

• Provide phone and commissary funds to asylum seekers in detention, as well as support to families who have lost a loved one in detention in order to obtain the remains and make final arrangements.

Yeni Gonzalez, our first mom,

leaving Eloy Detention Center

2019 Woman of Distinction

Senate Deputy Leader Michale Gianaris and Julie Schwietert Collazo

Senate Deputy Leader Gianaris Announces Julie Schwietert Collazo As 2019 Woman Of Distinction Honoree

“Immigration policy is personal for so many of us in Queens who come from immigrant families. This federal government’s anti-immigrant agenda is un-American and shameful. Thankfully, good people like Julie are organizing and fighting back,”

said Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris.

“I am honored to support her work with Immigrant Families Together and pleased to recognize her as a Woman of Distinction.”

The Senator cares about family reunification and supports immigration reform.

Sen. Gianaris awarded Immigrant Families Together a $20,000 grant on our first anniversary.

Al Senador le importa la reunificación familiar y apoya la reforma de inmigración.

The Future Of Immigrant Families Together