AFSC’s Jordan Garcia speaks out at our “Love Knows No Borders, No Walls” vigil in front of a for-profit detention center in Aurora, Colorado. Photo: Oscar Juarez
Since AFSC’s founding during World War I, we have worked to open hearts and communities to people seeking safety and opportunities in the U.S. As a Quaker organization, we recognize the inherent worth of every person. We are unwavering in our conviction that all people deserve the chance to build a good life—regardless of where they were born or how they came to this country.
As politicians use fear to divide us and enact policies that separate loved ones, our commitment remains stronger than ever.
Our decades of working with communities confronting violence, persecution, poverty, and injustice have given us deep insight into why people migrate and the obstacles they face. We provide direct support to immigrants while advocating alongside them for solutions that respect their rights and humanity.
Here are some of the ways AFSC is standing with immigrants in this critical moment, with support from caring people like you.
Strengthening communities through education
Know Your Rights training in Denver Colorado. Photo: Gabriela Flora/AFSC
Since the start of this year, thousands of people around the U.S. have taken part in AFSC’s Know Your Rights trainings. These workshops prepare immigrants, their families, and other community members for interactions with ICE or Border Patrol agents at home, work, school, or in their communities.
We have trained educators and students, employers and workers, faith congregations, social service providers, health care workers, and many others who oppose detention and deportation. Our train-the-trainer approach allows community organizations and volunteers to lead workshops themselves, multiplying our impact. We also help families create emergency plans to prepare for encounters with immigration enforcement.
Building community protection networks
With support from AFSC, immigrants and allies have developed rapid response networks in communities targeted by immigration enforcement. These networks bring together immigrant rights organizations, community groups, congregations, and trained volunteers to respond to reports of immigration enforcement activity.
Networks maintain 24-hour hotlines, deploy volunteers to inform people of their rights and document events, and alert the public when needed. They also connect immigrants and families with critical resources, including legal representation and social services.
Providing legal services
Every year, thousands of immigrants receive free legal representation from AFSC in our New Jersey offices. Our legal teams help people secure release from detention, apply for asylum, and reunite with their family members. We guide community members through complex immigration processes to help them achieve permanent status, obtain work permits, and more. Our caseworkers also connect people with resources for food, housing, education, and other needs.
Accompanying immigrants
Every week, the Miramar Circle of Protection—a coalition that includes AFSC—provides information and support to immigrants and their loved ones out of the ICE office in Miramar, Florida. Photo: AFSC/Florida
In several states, AFSC staff and volunteers accompany immigrants navigating court processes, ICE check-ins, and other appointments. This accompaniment can include transportation to and from appointments, translation services, advocacy for individuals’ rights, and helping family members at home. It also offers opportunities to witness how immigrants interact with government agencies and systems. Through this support, we help promote the rights and dignity of immigrants during especially difficult periods in their immigration process.
Supporting people who return
In Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador, AFSC provides critical support to people deported to these countries. Our efforts include humanitarian aid, documenting human rights violations, and advocating for policy changes to better address the needs of returnees.
Countering fear with love
In 2024, AFSC’s promoted positive immigration messaging through roadside billboards in multiple U.S. states.
Beyond direct support and accompaniment for immigrants, AFSC recognizes that lasting change requires shifting public narratives. We push back against the fear that politicians use to divide us through stories that lift up the valuable impact immigrants and immigrant leaders have on our communities. We research and deploy effective messages that emphasize our shared values, informing and amplifying the larger movement.
Advocating for change
A workshop for immigrant rights organizers in Oregon. Photo: Alonso Oliveros/AFSC
Throughout all our efforts, AFSC supports immigrant-led organizing for systemic change. We help immigrants and allies better understand the political and historical roots of the xenophobic policies we now face. And we work alongside communities to oppose discriminatory policies and demand solutions that recognize the rights and dignity of all community members.
Even in these challenging political times, we know that positive change is possible when people come together. During the previous Trump administration, communities across the U.S. mobilized to protect people from deportation, successfully advocating for laws and policies at the state and local levels that prevented local law enforcement from collaborating with federal immigration agencies.
As immigrants across the U.S. face increased threats, we will continue working alongside them and with allies to push back against discriminatory policies and demand solutions that recognize the dignity of all community members. Through collective action, we will move closer to the more just world we envision.
