This is How You Can Help the Immigrant Children Separated From Their Parents At The Border

Numerous organizations in the country are helping children from immigrant families who have been separated at the border. These are some of them:

Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley provides refugee families with warm food and clothing after the National Security Department releases them. At this moment they are accepting donations through their website. They also require supplies such as toiletries for men and women (deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, etc.), shoes (sandals, tennis shoes, loafers, etc.) for men, women, children and infants of all sizes, and clothes (pants, t-shirts, blouses, underclothing, etc.) for children and adults of all sizes.

RAICES is a nonprofit organization that provides free and low-cost legal services to immigrant children, families, and refugees in Texas. They are accepting donations and volunteers on their website. In addition, the #postcards4families campaign will donate $5 to RAICES for each postcard that children write to help immigrant children who have been separated.

Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project provides asylum seekers with legal assistance and community support throughout the country. "Our clients have traveled thousands of miles and braved dangerous terrain to bring their families to safety. We fight alongside them to keep their families in the United States and safe from harm," they explain.

Hispanic Federation activated a phone line so that citizens can connect with their representatives on the issue of family separation. They also call to use the #FamiliesBelongTogether tag on social networks.

South Texas Pro Bono The Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR) provides free legal services to asylum seekers detained in South Texas.

Kino Border Initiative fosters binational solidarity through direct humanitarian assistance and accompaniment of migrants. The organization points out having "witnessed the profound pain and distress of family separation up close, as migrants have shared their stories of being separated from a partner, a sibling, or other relatives and travel companions."

ActBlue has a donation button on its site to donate to children at the border through various organizations.

Freedom for Immigrants is another organization that opposes the detention of immigrants. "The U.S. has the largest immigration detention system in the world. On any given day, over 40,000 children and adults are languishing in immigrant jails and prisons." They have no access to a lawyer appointed by the court, a free telephone call or a quick trial" they say on their website.

The CARA Project is currently recruiting lawyers, law students and paralegals with experience in asylum work. The group asks the volunteers to be fluent in Spanish or to work with an interpreter.

Voto Latino is organizing a rally in El Tornillo, Texas, on June 24, the site of the first tent city built to house immigrant children separated from their parents. The organization also invites you to join its social media campaign with the hashtag #stopseparation.

The Women's Refugee Commission is circulating a petition to keep families together, and are also receiving donations for displaced mothers.

Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) protects unaccompanied minors who enter the US immigration system alone to ensure that no child appears in court without a lawyer. "We have helped thousands of children find a safe haven and freedom from fear, many for the first time in their young lives. Most are fleeing some of the most dangerous countries in the world," they say.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association volunteers to represent families with asylum assessment, bond hearings, ongoing asylum representation, etc. More information on how to volunteer here.

The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights is accepting donations to ensure that children's rights are met in immigration procedures. It also seeks advocates for children who visit immigrant children in detention centers on a weekly basis and accompany them to immigration procedures.

CASA in Maryland, D.C., Virginia and Pennsylvania, litigates, defends and assists with the representation of minors in need of legal services. "We work to create a more just society by building power and improving the quality of life in working class and immigrant communities," they explain on their website.

The American Immigrant Representation Project (AIRP), a legal immigrant representation project, says: "Detained immigrants are isolated from their families and communities, suffer poor conditions of confinement, are often detained in jurisdictions with laws that are unfavorable to immigrants, and experience extremely low rates of representation."

We Belong Together " aims to mobilize women in support of common sense immigration policies that will keep families together and empower women."

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the country's largest civil rights group, is suing the government for separating immigrant families seeking asylum in the United States. They have a tool on their website for people to communicate with their representatives in Congress and express their concerns.

The Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center provides legal representation to immigrants who otherwise would not be able to afford it. It is accepting volunteers and donations.

The Austin Bar Association Civil Right and Immigration Section is coordinating the training of pro bono lawyers to handle credible fear interviews for asylum seekers.

American Gateways provides legal services and representation to separated parents. They are currently seeking volunteers to represent detained parents who have been separated from their children.

Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services is the largest provider of free and low-cost immigration services in West Texas and says it is the only organization in El Paso that cares for unaccompanied children.

National Justice for Our Neighbors provides free and low-cost legal services to immigrant individuals and families in Texas.

The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is raising money to provide immigrant children with "immediate shelter and beds, medical services, counseling, and therapy to help them deal with the trauma of family separation."

Together Rising is raising money for advocacy groups that work to reunite immigrant children with their families.

Other organizations that work with immigrants on the border, refugee children, displaced families are Neta, Border Angels, Urban Justice Center’s Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, Together Rising, Texas Civil Rights Project, Pueblo Sin Fronteras, The Legal Aid Justice Center, Human Rights First, The Florence Project and Al Otro Lado.