A left-leaning nonprofit organization, Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), which is federally funded and provides legal assistance to detained illegal immigrants, has initiated a bond fund that facilitates their release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.
This move was made in collaboration with Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE Justice), another nonprofit organization that receives federal funding.
The Detained Immigrant Bond Fund was established on June 7, a day following violent anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, as reported by The Washington Free Beacon. The fund aims to offer "detained immigrants in Los Angeles and Orange Counties with the bond money that allows them to get out of detention, and return back to their lives and families while they build a case to gain status," according to the announcement page.
The collaboration between ImmDef and CLUE Justice involves the identification of eligible detained immigrants for release by ImmDef, while CLUE Justice pays their bonds through donations. Subsequently, ImmDef offers them free legal services. ImmDef, previously chaired by Department of Justice employee Marisa Arrona, has received federal funding for such activities.
The organization is a subcontractor of the Acacia Center for Justice, which paid ImmDef $17 million last year for contracts approved by the Department of the Interior and Department of Justice to provide legal representation to minors who arrived in the United States unaccompanied. The Acacia Center is responsible for a $769 million federal contract to house and counsel unaccompanied children.
Officials from both ImmDef and CLUE Justice have clarified that no federal dollars were used to finance the Detained Immigrant Bond Fund. "The donations to the bond fund have come from over 6,000 individuals who want to help reunite families that have been torn apart by the recent ICE raids in Southern California," stated Jennifer Gutierrez, the executive director of CLUE Justice.
ICE permits some detainees to leave federal custody during deportation proceedings if they post a bond, typically set at $1,500 or more, and agree to attend all hearings in their case. However, an illegal immigrant cannot post their own bond. Instead, a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, law firm, or nonprofit organizationlike ImmDefmust post the bond and act as a sponsor. If a detainee fails to attend court hearings or comply with a removal order, the sponsor forfeits the bond money.
The bond fund was launched by ImmDef amidst rising tensions surrounding illegal immigrants. A week after the partnership was announced, anti-ICE protests spread beyond Los Angeles and across the country, some turning violent and leading to numerous arrests. The Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America promoted the Detained Immigrant Bond Fund a day after its inception.
ImmDef has consistently advocated for a range of far-left positions on issues beyond immigration. The group has called for dismantling "the police state by defunding and decreasing police budgets" and said its "high time we abolish the immigration prison system and abolish ICE."
CLUE Justice, a religious-oriented pro-union nonprofit, is also at the heart of anti-ICE advocacy in Los Angeles. The group is promoting a July 3 event, "Shut It Down Freedom Cruise & Rally," that it says is aimed at "refusing plantation capitalism" and bringing "joyful resistance to a day of celebration of the power of the people." A flyer includes "#ABOLISHICE" and "#IMPEACHTRUMP" at the top.
In 2024, CLUE Justice launched a campaign pushing California lawmakers to pass a "grossly overdue" package of reparations legislation. It hosted several webinars on the topic with Kamilah V. Moore, who chaired Californias reparations task force.
Despite its founder, James Lawson Jr., a draft dodger who in 2007 called the United States government "the number one enemy of peace and justice in the world today," CLUE Justice has accepted cash from the government.
The group has received just under $1 million of taxpayer money since 2020, tax forms show, though none of that was for immigration work, according to Gutierrez. She said CLUE Justice took in federal funding through Community Partnersa fiscal sponsorand the Public Health Institute "to educate vulnerable people in congregations about how to protect themselves from COVID."
The group also received roughly $250,000 through two Paycheck Protection Program loans, federal records show. Gutierrez said some of its government funding came from pandemic-era tax credits, but didnt indicate how much.
Login