Table of Contents
Volunteer With A Local Organization/Coalition
805 Immigrant Coalition
Coordinator: Frank Rodriguez
Mission: The 805 Immigrant Coalition unites organizations to educate and organize immigrants and allies, and to advocate for humane and just policies that advance the rights of all immigrants.
Volunteer Opportunities:
- Advocacy:
- Immigrant Day of Action (Thur, April 28 on Zoom)
- Lobby our California state legislators in support of bills that provide healthcare, food assistance, an expanded social support network, and more for our immigrant community.
- For more information and to register, visit www.tinyurl.com/805ida2022
- SB County Justice Fund
- Advocating for a County-supported “Justice Fund” for legal services for immigrants facing deportation proceedings
- Strategy meeting on Tue, March 22 12:30pm-1:30pm on Zoom
- Join meeting using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83280966534
- Registration Link to Follow
- ICE Out of SB County
- Working to identify entanglements between local law enforcement and Immigration & Customs Enforcement, and advocating for legislation to separate the two and create safer communities for all
- Next meeting Mon, April 4 @ 4-5:30pm
- Register at www.tinyurl.com/ICEOutOfSB042022
- Immigrant Day of Action (Thur, April 28 on Zoom)
Immigrant Legal Defense Center
julissa@sbimmigrantdefense.org
805-886-9136
Executive Director: Julissa Peña
Mission: We provide equal access to justice and due process to indigent immigrants so that no one should face immigration court alone.
Volunteer Opportunities:
- Physicians
- Attorneys
- Counselors
- Expert witnesses
- Drivers for court appearances
- To volunteer with Drivers Listos! (a program originated at Trinity Episcopal Church), contact Molly Kellogg
- Phone: 805-886-4655
- Email: molly@foodhuntermark.com
- Justice Fund Advocates
- Strategy Meeting – March 12, 2022 @ 12pm
Other Ways to Support Us:
Suggested Reading
- The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande. An autobiography that explores the complex dynamic between the children that are left in their native country while their parents come to the US to provide a better future, and how the relationship evolves once the children immigrate to the US as well. Also touches upon classism, abuse, trauma, and racism.
- Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions by Valerie Luiselli. Luiselli speaks of her experiences as a volunteer interpreter in a NY city immigration court. This is a short read, and if you like it, you will like Luiselli’s book below.
- Lost Children Archive by Valerie Luiselli. Luiselli speaks of her volunteering experience working with undocumented refugee children in New York and the issues the children encountered in the host country.
- The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail by Oscar Martinez. This is one of the few books about Central American immigrants and their terrifying and perilous journey to the land of opportunity.
- Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. A moving story about immigrants from Africa trying to make their way in New York during the 2008 financial crisis.
- Bang by Daniel Pena. This book demonstrates the intersection of environmental justice, violence, and the abuses endured by farmworkers.
- The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea. This book is a fictionalized account of the dangerous journey of border crossing through the Arizona desert.
- Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.
- Migration Policy Institute: www.migrationpolicy.org
Suggested Viewing:
- “Immigration Nation” (2020 series on Netflix). With unprecedented access to ICE operations, as well as moving portraits of immigrants, this docu-series takes a deep look at US immigration today.
- “Living Undocumented” (2019 series on Netflix). Eight undocumented families’ fates roller-coast as the United States’ immigration policies are transformed.
Other Resources:
- Twitter accounts that provide insightful pieces on immigration, news, and good resources:
- Immigration Initiative at Harvard (IIH) @IIH_Harvard
- Immigration Rights Activists @ ImmigrActivists
- Sign up at www.migrationpolicy.org to receive articles, brief issues, data studies, and other publications related to immigration. They’re short reads and very insightful pieces of information.
- President Biden Proposes Path to Citizenship For Nation’s Undocumented Immigrants (KQED podcast, 1/25/21). A recent review of the Biden Administration’s immigration plan and its potential effects on California. https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101881744/president-biden-proposes-path-to-citizenship-for-nations-undocumented-immigrants
IMPORTA Santa Barbara
(805) 604-5060
Executive Director: Marline Flores
Mission: Importa provides services to the following populations: Detained individuals, Domestic Violence Victims, Farm workers, Human Trafficking Survivors, Individuals who are not in legal immigration status. Legal assistance in the following areas are provided; Adjustment of Status, Asylum applications, Consular Processing, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Family-based petitions, NACARA, Naturalization / Citizenship, Removal hearings, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, T visas, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), U visas, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petitions
Volunteer Opportunities:
- Administrative assistants, Helping with receive/make general phone calls, schedule appointments, open mail, make copies. This position will also be responsible for client check-in greeting people and helping walk-ins.
- Social Media , helping update our website , create flyers, manage our Instagram, Facebook page.
- Translator, helping translate legal documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificate, divorce decree, death certificates ,proofreading our Spanish material.
- Paralegal Interns, Work with clients under the supervision of Authorized Practitioners by assisting with the intake interviews, collecting information from clients, and then inputting that information into forms or applications. Great opportunity for paralegal to build relationships with clients through interactions as well as connect clients with needed services. Paralegal interns are not allowed to give any immigration advice.
- Grant writing
Other Ways to Support Us:
- For the past five years IMPORTA has received major grants through the State of California’s “One California” program. These grants, which involve modest per-case reimbursements, do not provide for infrastructure or operational support. Moreover, future state funding is uncertain due to California’s boom-bust system of taxation. Through an early gift of its headquarters building at 129 East Carrillo Street and through innovative case processing and data storage procedures IMPORTA has been able to offer all of its immigration legal services without charge. It has grown to be the largest provider of immigration legal services in Santa Barbara County, with a staff of 9 dedicated bilingual second-generation immigrants. A large percentage of IMPORTA’s clients have given small donations which now represent almost 10% of IMPORTA’s budget.
- IMPORTA will only be able to continue its all-important immigration legal work if the larger community recognizes the importance of what we do for our local immigrants. If you wish to donate please click here: www.importasb.org/donate
Suggested Reading:
- We strongly suggest looking at all the information presented on our website (in both English and Spanish). Our website describes our work in detail, and also offers our interpretations of current news, opportunities as well as potential dangers facing immigrants. Our Facebook page contains videos from our Facebook Live bi-weekly sessions.
Immigrant Hope Santa Barbara
info.santabarbara@immigranthope.org
(805) 963-0166
Executive Director: Diane Martinez
Mission: To build relationships with our neighbors by providing Immigration and Education Services with the hope of sharing God’s love provided in the gospel.
Volunteer Opportunities
- Learning Pod Tutor
- Provide support and mentorship to students whose classes have been moved online due to the pandemic
- Soap Pantry Assistant
- Help run our weekly soap pantry and bless immigrant families with dish, laundry, and body soap
- Administrative Assistance
- Schedule appointments for clients, check clients in, and answer phone calls
- Civics Tutor
- Help our neighbors as they study for their citizenship test by participating in mock interviews, quizzing them on civics questions, and more.
- English Tutor
- Grow our neighbors’ confidence by helping them practice their English conversation skills
Other Ways to Support Us
- Donating monthly to our mission: www.immigranthopesb.org/donate.html
- Inviting IHSB to give an online presentation about immigration
- Praying for our clients
- Hosting and/or supporting a virtual fundraiser
- Donating monthly to our mission
- Adopting an education class
Suggested Reading
- Christians at the Border by Daniel Carroll
- Welcoming the Stranger by Matthew Soerens and Jenny Hwang Yang
- The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong by Karen Gonzalez
- Our God Is Undocumented: Biblical Faith and Immigrant Justice by Matthew Colwell
Border Project
Lead Volunteer: Laurinda Marshall
For more information: sanctuary@sbact.org
Mission: The SB Border Project focuses on addressing the pressing needs of refugees in Mexican camps at our border, as they wait to cross into the United States.
Take Action:
For the sake of expedience, the Border Project group partners with Border Compassion, a Southern California organization affiliated with the La Cobina Posada shelter in MexiCali. The Border Project sends funds to Border Compassion, which in turn purchases supplies in Mexico.
The La Cobina Posada shelter requires about $2,000/month for the food, toiletries, and supplies needed to support the hundreds of individuals and families living onsite. The Border Project conducted its last site visit in January 2023, and is currently making plans for next steps.
To donate online:
visit www.sbact.org/border.
To donate via check:
Check made out to “SB ACT”
Write “Border’ in Memo line
Mail checks to:
ISA c/o SB ACT
PO Box 217
Santa Barbara, CA 93102
General Action Items
Donate
Support Love Your Neighbor Weekend by clicking the button below. Donations will support the work of the Interfaith Sanctuary Alliance.
Join the ISA Newsletter
Join the ongoing conversation about standing in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors. Get updates about volunteer opportunities and ways to support our immigrant neighbors in an ever-changing immigration landscape.