Immigrant Defense

As an organization of immigrants and the children of immigrants, we organize to make ours the safest state for immigrants in the South. We do that primarily by building the power necessary to change state and federal policies that criminalize, target and separate immigrant families. 

We also deploy volunteers in defense networks who make it possible for immigrants to get to work, school and worship safely, and make it possible for immigrants targeted for detention to claim their right to a trial. 

Information That Helps Immigrants Get to School & Work Safely 

Our Defend Your Rights trainings, OJO NC website, social media videos and real-time reports sent via text message help immigrants understand where they are at most at risk and what to do if they are targeted by federal agents. 

Hotline & ICE Watch 

Our defense hotline has helped immigrants across the state get to school and work safely since 2017. On a daily basis immigrants call to ask for help identifying vehicles in their neighborhood, confirming rumors spreading fear on social media, or ask for the presence of legal observers as federal agents knock on their doors. During Operation Charlotte’s Web, over 7,800 people took at least two actions with us – including thousands who attended rapid response ICE Watch trainings in Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Hickory, Greensboro, Wilmington and other cities across the state. 

Florece Fund Our hotline receives calls everyday from families experiencing detention, and we help them understand their options, find qualified legal support, organize and speak out. We want them to eventually get their day in court – administration officials have openly said they want to coerce immigrant families to give up their right to a trial. By using detention and financial pressure, they aim to make signing away their right to a trial feel like the only option. That’s why every dollar to our Florece Fund helps individual families cover immediate needs, fight their cases, and exercise their legal rights. You can donate and find individual fundraisers for families fighting their loved one’s detention.