ICE bail funds in Pa. help undocumented immigrants fight deportations
Activists protest the agenda of President Donald Trump during a rally near the water tower on the Magnificent Mile on Jan. 25, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by)
In his six years helping run the Casa San José Bail Fund, Guillermo Perez says lately, he has been attending more ICE bail hearings and helping getting more undocumented immigrants out of detention than ever.
'People are scared right now, immigrants are being attacked like never before,' said Perez, an immigration activist and retired Steelworkers union organizer.
In late April, ICE raided a popular Mexican restaurant in Beaver County, 1942 Tequilas and Tacos. Eight employees were detained, one of several that activists say have been happening in Pittsburgh at laundromats, apartment buildings, and even school bus stops. The latest raids in the region were in Braddock and Wilkinsburg in the final days of May.
For activists like Perez, each raid put them into a scramble to figure out how they could assist immigrants and their families affected. One way is through the Casa San José Bail Fund, which he helped found.
The fund is helping to ease fears by getting immigrants out of detention and giving them legal resources to fight deportations. Founded during the first Trump Administration in 2019, the Casa San José Bail Fund has raised more than $200,000 from people in the Pittsburgh area. Unlike criminal bonds, bond seekers only have to post 10% of the bond cost, which many families can't afford.
Since its inception, it's made 61 loans to various families and helped protect dozens of families from deportation.
Across Pennsylvania, two other ICE bail funds have emerged to help immigrants in detention.
In Lancaster, where 42% of the population is Latino according to the U.S. Census Bureau the Parish Resource Center maintains the Immigration Bond and Advocacy Network. In Philadelphia, the New Sanctuary Movement maintains the Community Fund for Bond and Legal Support.
Unlike the Casa San José ICE bail fund, which raises all of its money locally, both funds are part of the National Bail Fund Network. The network also helps in providing bail funds for American citizens jailed on criminal charges.
'They connect different bond funds,' says Peter Pedemonti of the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia. 'So if we might not have all the money, we could connect with a fund in Massachusetts or somewhere else to pull money together.'
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Pedemonti says that there is a growing nationwide movement aimed at getting more immigrants out of ICE detention.
'At a time where there's been a daily assault on immigrant families, both on the ground with ICE agents and also from the White House with policy coming out. I think it is, it is really important to have that, like that concrete small action and that concrete action of liberation,,' says Pedemonti. 'It's a small victory for one family.'
Studies have shown that immigrants who can get out of immigration detention are far less likely to be deported. Some fleeing violence can seek asylum and other venues to achieve legal status successfully. The process can often take years, but some immigrants have found legal ways to stay in the United States.
However, those who stay in detention are sometimes subject to isolation and conditions, which advocates have often described as inhuman and unsanitary.
'What they do is they put tremendous pressure on people to just go ahead and sign away their rights to due process,' said Perez. 'They just use incarceration as a way of pressuring people to self-deport'.
The fund works with a network of immigration attorneys to review the circumstances of each case and assess the likelihood that a bond could be successful.
'If we assess that they do have a possible path for why they should be allowed to legally stay in the United States, then we go ahead and try to get them legal representation so that they can see if they're eligible to get a bond,' said Perez.
Unlike traditional bail funds, Casa San José does not charge interest and allows families to repay the bail over the years. The funds are then reused to help other immigrants get bail.
Perez says it has helped mobilize immigrants around Pittsburgh to become politically active in groups like Casa San José.
'Rather than just handing somebody money and wishing them best of luck, we want them to continue to be involved (with) Casa San José, to be involved in helping other people in the community who are being impacted by deportations as well,' said Perez. 'So the goal of the bond fund is not only obviously (to) get people out of detention, but also to try to convey that the community is stronger when we support each other'.
Some donors sign up to give the fund $20 a month, but the bulk of the money comes from several large fundraisers. A variety of community groups in Pittsburgh are holding these types of events to support its efforts.
In late March, Temple Sinai was packed with over 100 Jewish activists who showed up for the 'De-ICE Ball.'
'There's nothing like when the Jewish community shows up. You guys are no joke,' said Monica Ruiz, the director of Casa San José, to a clapping crowd of Jewish activists.
The event raised more than $18,000.
'I'm shocked at how many people showed up,' said Harry Hochheiser, one of the organizers.
Hochheiser is a member of the Dor Hadash Synagogue. In 2018, one of their congregation's members, Dr. Jerry Rabonwitz, was killed when a shooter killed 11 Jews who attended three different congregations located in the Tree of Life Synagogue complex, just a few blocks from Temple Sinai. The Oct. 27, 2018, attack is the deadliest attack against Jews in American history.
The shooter said that he murdered them because their congregations were fundraising to help immigrants through the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
'I think to some extent, that's faded from people's memories a little bit, even here, but it's definitely in the back of my mind,' Hochheiser said.
Hochheiser said Jews, though, are largely motivated to help immigrants due to their own history of persecution.
He pointed out the fundraiser was taking place right around the 86th anniversary of the United States turning away the SS St. Louis, which was carrying over 900 Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler. They were denied entry to the United States and 254 of the passengers would later be killed in the Holocaust when they were returned to Europe.
'It's knowing your history, and it's looking back to think, 'Hey, you know what, what was it like for my grandparents,'' he said. 'I can't imagine being turned back or turned away.'
At a time when many activists say that they feel helpless in stopping the Trump administration's deportation efforts, organizers say giving to the Casa San José Bail fund gives them a tangible way to help people.
'I think particularly at this moment, there are a lot of people who are just looking to do something,' said Hochheiser.
Mike Elk is a freelance reporter based in Pittsburgh.
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