Anger to Action: Resisting ICE Violence
We’re Mad Too.
ICE’s violence is not normal—and we refuse to treat it as such.
Across Missouri and the country, undocumented immigrants, including people seeking asylum, are being targeted by the most aggressive immigration enforcement in history. In 2025, the federal detention and deportation machine received its highest level of funding ever, reinforced by state and local policies that criminalize migration and entangle local systems with federal enforcement.
This isn’t abstract policy. It’s lived reality: fear, trauma, family separation, financial instability, discrimination, and deep social isolation for immigrant communities across our region.
We are angry because this harm is intentional.
And we are committed because our values demand something better.
Our Values, Our Community
The racist, anti-immigrant culture shaping much of today’s federal and state policy does not reflect the values we hold as a community.
Immigrants are vital members of Missouri, workers, parents, leaders, and neighbors, who contribute in countless ways, yet those with non-citizen immigration statuses face devastating barriers to live safely and with dignity.
In Missouri, the enforcement-to-detention-to-deportation pipeline is stark:
Three immigration detention centers hold roughly 400 people on any given day
Detained individuals come from more than 30 countries
The youngest are just 18; some are great-grandparents
More than 80% have no criminal record
Most are residents of the St. Louis metro area. People who live, work, worship, and raise families here, and who trusted local institutions to protect them.
Every single person is loved, missed, and depended upon.
In the past year alone, more than 2,000 of our neighbors have been churned through this predatory, profit-driven system—detained, destabilized, and often deported to countries where they face real threats of violence, permanently separated from their families.
What we are witnessing in Minnesota is not an isolated tragedy. It is a warning.
The same enforcement tactics, data sharing, and normalization of harm are operating in Missouri right now. Different geography. Same machinery.
Standing Together: The St. Louis Rapid Response Coalition
Ashrei is an active member of the St. Louis Rapid Response Coalition, formed in January 2025 to respond to escalating enforcement activity across the region. The Coalition brings together nonprofit organizations, advocates, and community leaders committed to coordinated, values-driven action built on years of organizing and trust.
Together, we:
Educate communities about constitutional rights before ICE
Track enforcement activity and tactics
Support families when loved ones are detained or deported
Respond to harassment, discrimination, and harm driven by anti-immigrant sentiment
The Rapid Response Hotline: A Lifeline in Crisis
One of the Coalition’s most critical efforts is the Rapid Response Hotline, a Ashrei led and volunteer staffed phone line supporting families in moments of crisis.
Since launching in February 2025, the Hotline has:
Received over 5,000 calls
Directly supported nearly 400 families across Missouri
Logged more than 13,570 minutes of real-time support
The data is sobering.
82% of calls involving immigrants detained in Missouri began with an interaction with local law enforcement. A routine traffic stop can now determine someone’s life trajectory—permanently destabilizing families, often for generations.
In just the first five weeks of 2026, the Hotline supported 771 inbound calls, powered by a volunteer infrastructure that includes:
31 Hotline Operators and daily leads
19 Locator Team members
37 interpreters
6 lead immigration attorneys
31 Detained Intake Volunteer Attorneys (DIVAs)
Hotline Operators provide calm, clear accompaniment through some of the most terrifying moments a family can experience—explaining rights and processes, locating detained loved ones, connecting callers to free legal reviews, navigating jail telecommunications systems, and coordinating specialized support as needed.
The Hotline does not fix a broken system, but it creates lifelines within it.
That is why Ashrei works across these systems—from our North City Photo ID Project to the Rapid Response Hotline. Access is the foundation of justice. When people lack representation, language access, or documentation, the system swallows them whole. Our work is about interrupting that harm at every possible point.
What You Can Do Right Now
If you’re feeling angry, overwhelmed, or unsure how to help, there are concrete ways to take action:
Support Immigration Justice Efforts
Rapid Response Hotline Operators: Spanish–English bilingual volunteers answer calls remotely using a secure app. Scripts, training, and support are provided. Speakers of additional languages are encouraged to join on-call support teams.
IFER Fund Volunteers: Coordinate and deliver emergency cash assistance to immigrant and mixed-status families impacted by enforcement.
Register in the Rapid Response Coalition volunteer database at http://bit.ly/STLRRVOLS to receive training and next steps.
Additional opportunities across Community Defense & Preparation, Detention Solidarity, and Advocacy & Organizing are available through Coalition partners at stlrapidresponse.org/engage.
Fund the Work
Your financial support helps us power the Rapid Response Hotline. Every single contribution helps, make yours here:
Consider a gift to one of our several trusted partners that strengthen the ecosystem of support:
MICA Project and Catholic Legal Assistance Ministry (CLAM) provide critical pro bono legal services, including Power of Attorney workshops, Know Your Rights trainings, and immigration advocacy.
https://www.mica-project.org/
https://sfcsstl.orgImmigrant and Refugee Ministry coordinates an Accompaniment Program, matching trained volunteers to walk alongside immigrants during ICE check-ins, offering presence, dignity, and solidarity.
https://www.stpiusv.org/migrantministryAbide in Love and its local affiliates provide direct support to people in immigration detention, offering care, connection, and advocacy for individuals held in county jails.
https://www.abideinlove.org/Immigrant Family Emergency Response (IFER) Fund delivers direct cash assistance to immigrant families facing crisis, having distributed nearly $1 million since the start of the pandemic.
https://youthbridge.org/immigrant-family-emergency-response/Puentes de Esperanza supports immigrant families by helping them navigate complex systems—from education to social services—so families can stabilize and thrive.
https://hoyleton.org/programs/hispanic-community-support/Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) provides a powerful statewide advocacy platform, advancing policies that protect and uplift immigrant and refugee communities.
https://www.icirr.org/The Resurrection Project and The Immigration Project offer pro bono legal guidance and technical support to community providers assisting families as they navigate the immigration system.
https://resurrectionproject.org/
https://www.immigrationproject.org/
Together, these organizations form a vital network of legal aid, emergency support, accompaniment, and advocacy—meeting urgent needs while pushing for a more just and humane immigration system.
This Is What Solidarity Looks Like
The systems harming immigrant communities today are powerful—but they are not inevitable. They are sustained by policy choices, budgets, and silence.
We choose something else.
We are mad because we care. And we are committed to building the world we want to live in—together.
If you’re ready to stand with immigrant families in Missouri, we’re ready to stand with you.
