In response to the President’s executive orders and a series of raids in the Baltimore region by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, the OSI-Baltimore has launched SAFE CITY BALTIMORE: An Immigrant Education and Defense Fund.
The executive order and increased ICE activity have sown widespread fear in local communities, kept children out of schools, and separated families. The fund will work to educate our region’s immigrant communities about their legal rights before, during, and after such raids, help those with viable claims to stay in the US, and provide legal representation for those detained and facing deportation.
In establishing this fund and carrying out this work, OSI-Baltimore is working closely with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and Multicultural Affairs (MIMA) and the many community and advocacy groups already working on the ground.
“We are seeing a surge of immigration enforcement activities that do not focus on those immigrants who have committed serious crimes and that often violate individuals’ rights,” said OSI-Baltimore Director Diana Morris. “Local immigrants—often longtime residents—wake up each day fearful, afraid for themselves and for their families. Like so many others, we want to respond to the excesses we see at the national level, so, when MIMA approached us, we were eager to help with the effort.” Go to osibaltimore.org for more information.