Contra Costa County Community Fund
Over $236,000 of the WCDF Community Fund were used to:
1) Bond out 40 people, with an average bond of $10,000
2) Make 22 direct support grants to struggling families with loved ones who are not eligible for bonds
3) Purchase 21 flights and bus trips so that people can be reunited with their families upon release or brought home to the Bay Area if they were transferred
Thank you for helping us free dozens of individuals at West County Detention Facility
On July 10, 2018, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office announced that it is ending its contract with ICE at the West County Detention Facility in Richmond, California.
ICE rapidly transferred people detained at West County to Colorado, Washington, and other places that were far from their attorneys and families — and in some cases, to courts that follow a harsher interpretation of immigration law. ICE moved at lightening speed, but so did we.
We coordinated with local attorneys and legal services organizations to bond people out quickly, so they could come back home to continue their case in San Francisco immigration court and and fight for freedom.
This community fund was used to directly to pay for bonds and assist with family expenses, including necessities like transportation to the detention facility, and costs for phone calls with loved ones who are detained.
Families belong together in their communities where they can be safe and thrive, not separated from each other.
Here are some of the individuals who've been reunited with their families:
Jasiel was the first individual to be bonded out through the WCDF Community Fund. Soon after he was able to reunite with this wife Almadelia, 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son.
Mohammed, a man seeking asylum from Ghana, has finally been reunited with his family. The WCDF Community Fund covered Mohammed's bond so that he could be freed from the terrible conditions at WCDF and avoid transfer to another facility. A Freedom for Immigrants volunteer picked Mohammed up at WCDF upon release and took him to San Francisco Airport so that he could join his sister and her son in New Jersey via a cross-country flight, also paid for by the fund.
Rosa is so grateful to be reunited with her loved ones back at home. Now that she has been freed from ICE detention, she is eager to return to supporting her elderly parents and her three children, especially her youngest son, who suffers from autism and depends on her trained caregiving abilities.
Late one Friday afternoon, we received word that Misael was about to be released from the Denver ICE Detention Facility after winning his immigration case. Thanks to the WCDF Community Fund, Misael was able to take a flight from Denver to San Jose, arriving safely the following morning. He is so grateful to be reunited with his partner Fatima and their newborn baby girl Zamihra.
Henry, a young man seeking asylum from Guatemala, is so happy to be home safe with his family after spending five months in three different ICE detention facilities. "Our whole family is so grateful that my brother is home — my mother, my siblings, my children, my nephew, and our friends.”
Francisco was reunited with his partner and young son after being freed from WCDF thanks to people's generosity through the Community Fund.
“Thank you so much! We are all together again and it wouldn’t have been possible without your support.”
“God bless you all for all you have done to help me be released!”
“God bless you all! Thank you very, very, very, much. We are very, very, very, happy that we have Serpil and Yasin here with us. We wish for all of you happy and healthy lives!”
Nestor was detained at WCDF until a mass transfer in which he was sent to a private ICE prison in Aurora, CO, where he remains detained to this day. Nestor is a young, hardworking man, who has lived in the US for 12 years. For the past 8 years he has been married to his loving, supportive wife Abigail, a US citizen. Their 7 year old daughter and 4 year old son miss their father terribly. Nestor was the breadwinner in the family, and his detention has taken such an emotional and financial toll on his family that they have lost their home. Through a Direct Support Grant, the WCDF Community Fund has helped Abigail to keep her family afloat during this difficult time. She says, "Thank you all so much. This goes to show that an unassuming act of kindness can become someone's memory of a lifetime."
Fon is an asylum seeker from Cameroon who faced political persecution in his country. He was recently bonded out through the WCDF Community Fund and with the help of Centro Legal de la Raza. He said, “On behalf of my family and I, I will like to say a big thank you to Centro Legal de la Raza, the Bond Fund that donated the money for my bond, to Mr. Nicola and his family for all you have done for me in making sure I was released from detention and transported home safely to my family. I will for every remain grateful and may the good Lord continue to bless you abundantly.”
