Freedom for Immigrants’ National Immigration Detention Bond Fund

Please note: FFI’s National Immigration Detention Bond Fund will not be accepting new applications from January to summer 2024 during FFI’s chrysalis period. Learn more here and access the National Bail Fund Network’s referral form here.

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What is a bond?

Detained immigrants, including people arrested in ICE raids and mothers separated from their children at the border, sometimes have the opportunity to be released on a cash bond — which is like bail — while fighting their immigration cases.

However, many families cannot afford the high bond amounts set by ICE or immigration judges. There is no upper limit for immigration bonds, but Freedom for Immigrants has documented immigration bonds ranging from $1,500 to $250,000 with a median of $4,250 and an average of $14,500.

Without the ability to pay a bond, longtime lawful permanent residents, asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants who may be eligible for relief from deportation are forced to languish in immigration detention. Many fall victim to predatory bail bond companies. For example, Libre by Nexus forces customers to wear oppressive ankle-monitoring technology and puts their customers in debt by charging $880 upfront, 20% of the bond amount, and an additional $420/month. This pushes families into poverty, creates emotional strain for parents and children, and makes it extremely difficult for families to afford legal representation.

It's time for a humane solution that allows families to stay together and lets individuals focus their efforts on winning their immigration cases.

DONATE IN SOLIDARITY (select “bond fund” in purpose section)

How does Freedom for Immigrants' National Detention Bond Fund work?

Freedom for Immigrants began piloting a bond fund program in 2010; in its early years, we would help families raise funds to pay the bonds of their loved ones.

In 2013, we began serving as the obligor for some of these bonds, and in June 2018 with the support of the James Irvine Foundation, we officially launched our National Bond Fund program.

We have raised over $3.6 million, which has been applied directly to paying the immigration bonds of over 460 people.

Freedom for Immigrants provides each individual that it bonds out with critical wrap-around services through its proven case management program to document, support, and enhance the likelihood of success for their case. Sometimes this support also includes housing with a sponsor volunteer.

Learn about our campaign to bond out people from West County Detention Facility in Richmond, California, when its contract with ICE was terminated.

Who Is Eligible for Our Bond Program?

To determine if someone you know is eligible for our bond program, apply now. A person is eligible for our bond program if they:

have been granted a bond by ICE or an immigration judge in California or Louisiana; or
have been visited by one of our affiliated visitation programs.

We will prioritize the bonds of the people who meet the criteria above based on the following:

have been assigned an immigration judge with low case grant rates (when Freedom for Immigrants bonds them out, they will be assigned a new judge on the non-detained docket);
have an attorney or we reasonably believe an attorney can be secured once the person is released;
have a Freedom for Immigrants sponsor;
be connected with one of our visitation programs;
have strong community ties;
pregnant; and
are the primary caretaker of someone else.

Sylvester

Sylvester Owino spent over nine years in immigration detention in California and Alabama. We met Owino at the Etowah County Detention Facility in Alabama in 2013. We collaborated with Owino to co-author a complaint on detention facility conditions there and advocated that he receive a bond hearing. He was finally granted a $1,500 bond and we raised that amount in less than 30 minutes.

Eva

Eva Palma was released from five months of immigration detention at the West County Detention Facility in Richmond, CA in November 2016. Ms. Palma's bond amount was $2,500. She is seeking asylum in the United States from Guatemala and she is now reunited with some of her family while her legal case proceeds. She also is the mother of three beautiful daughters in Guatemala and she is excited to reunite with them soon.

Mohammed

Mohammed, a man seeking asylum from Ghana, has finally been reunited with his family. The WCDF Community Fund covered Mohammed's bond so that he could be freed from the terrible conditions at WCDF and avoid transfer to another facility. A Freedom for Immigrants volunteer picked Mohammed up at WCDF upon release and took him to San Francisco Airport so that he could join his sister and her son in New Jersey via a cross-country flight, also paid for by the fund.

Be a part of the solution today.

Please join us and support Freedom for Immigrants' Bond Fund.

Your tax-deductible donation will help someone win their freedom and your gift will be recycled in perpetuity, until our work to end the immigration detention system is complete.