The Immigration Detention Visitation Ministry accompanies individuals currently detained for immigration purposes. On any given day, the U.S. government incarcerates more than 33,000 immigrants in a vast national network of over 250 federal, private, state, and local jails – at a cost of over $2 billion annually. For people in detention, the months and years spent in immigration detention awaiting a resolution can be extremely lonely and full of fear.
The social visits from community members pierce the deep isolation experienced by people in detention and nurture ties to the community that will support integration post-release. LIRS also published a five module detention visitation guide helping those interested in the ministry to consider the call, learn about the issue, and establish their own visitation programs. View the e-modules here.
Local congregations and ministries that provide a compassionate ministry of presence to people in immigration detention include:
Arkansas
Arkansas Interfaith Conference, Little Rock
Arizona
Restoration Project at Casa Mariposa, Tucson/Florence
California
East Bay Interfaith Immigration Coalition and University Lutheran Chapel, Oakland
St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, San Diego
Colorado
Casa de Paz, Colorado Springs
Georgia
El Refugio Visitation Program, Lumpkin
Lutheran Social Services of Georgia, Atlanta
Illinois
Cristo Rey Lutheran Church, East Moline
Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants, Chicago/McHenry County
Kansas
Immigrant Justice Advocacy Movement, Kansas City
Kentucky
Hispanic and Latino Ministries and Mid-Kentucky Presbytery, Louisville
Maryland
Pueblo de Esperanza and Breath of God Lutheran Church, Baltimore
River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Bethesda
Massachusetts
Presbyterian Immigrant Ministries and Presbytery of Southern New England, Boston
Minnesota
Minnesota Detained Immigrant Visitor Project and Interfaith Coalition on Immigration, Minneapolis/St. Paul
New Jersey
First Friends and IRATE and Santa Isabel Lutheran Church, Elizabeth
Monmouth County Coalition for Immigrant Rights and Casa Freehold, Highland Park
New York
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Detention Center Outreach, New York
Oklahoma
Good Shepard Jail Visitation Ministry, Tulsa
South Carolina
La Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey and La Iglesia Luterana Manantial de Vida, Columbia
Texas
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Austin
La Frontera Ministries, McAllen
Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, Houston
Washington
African Detention Visitation Program and Indonesian Lutheran Fellowship, Seattle/Tacoma
National
Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement
