CALEB launches new Immigration Bond Fund to aid families separated by ICE detention
We're proud to announce a new initiative through CALEB that looks to intervene directly in support of local families separated by ICE detention. The Immigration Bond Fund is a mechanism to raise money that will be used to post bond for local individuals that have been granted a bond amount by an immigration judge. All the reasons for doing away with the wealth-based detention of cash bail--unequal access to justice, inability to work or act as caregiver, threats to employment, housing, transportation, or necessary medication--are only amplified and extended when dealing with individuals moved to a federal pre-trial detention facility.
Solid community action often comes out of serious social failures and injustices. In Hamilton County, family members are being separated every week; often they're arrested for minor traffic charges like driving on a revoked license even when no probably cause is given for the stop. When undocumented individuals are booked in the jail, ICE is notified and has the ability to place a 48-hour hold that precludes an option to bail out. According to ICE's own website, "If ICE does not assume custody after 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays), the local law enforcement agency (LEA) is required to release the individual. The LEA may not lawfully hold an individual beyond the 48-hour period." Yet in a number of cases that CALEB's Community Bail Fund has been involved with, Hamilton County Jail staff have refused to release individuals well after the hold has expired and bond has been paid. Along with Tennessee United, we are working to make sure these examples of unjust detentions are changed at the Hamilton County Sheriff's Dept. For those individuals who do find themselves or their loved ones fighting for their freedom to stay in Chattanooga, we are looking to help. We will be coordinating the establishment of a bond fund committee to oversee applications and approvals, but in the meantime we need to gather the funds that can make action a reality. CALEB's goal is to raise $20,000 for the fund by year's end. You can help us reach this goal by donating HERE, as well as sharing this project among your friends and family. CALEB is a nonprofit organization, so all donations will be tax-deductible.
See our video explaining the need for an Immigration Bond Fund below:
Read more at www.calebcha.org/immigration.
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Meetings for Sept/ Oct Education Task Force: Sept. 26th @ St. Andrews Center (1918 Union Ave.) immediately following press conference
Economic Mobility Task Force:i Oct. 1st, 5:30pm - 7:00 pm @ The Honest Pint Criminal Justice Task Force: Oct. 3rd, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm @ The Honest Pint Gamaliel's Race and Power Conference this December CALEB is excited to participate in the national convening of the Race and Power Summit in Nashville! We do have some financial support for interested members. If you would like to attend, please reach out to us at info@calebcha.org.
Education Task Force: Thursday, August 22nd, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm @ First Centenary United Methodist Church Economic Mobility Task Force: Thursday, August 22nd, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm @ First Centenary United Methodist Church Criminal Justice Task Force: Tuesday, Sept. 3rd, 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm @ The Honest Pint The next CALEB general meeting will be Thursday, Sept. 12th, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm @ First Centenary United Methodist Church.
Mad Priest Coffee Roasters raises money for the Bail Fund Mad Priest Coffee Roasters has partnered with CALEB to donate 10% of sales from their "Summer Give Back Blend" to the Hamilton County Community Bail Fund! You can pick up a bag while supplies last at their Southside location (1900 Broad St., next to Koch's Bakery).
Midway through summer, and CALEB's task forces are busy charting a path towards action! Our members are in the initial stages of research and relationship-building around the issues of Education and Economic Mobility. Meanwhile our Criminal Justice Task Force is assessing the financial and volunteer needs of the Hamilton County Community Bail Fund, and developing a plan for broader advocacy against wealth-based detention. If you're looking for a way to get more involved in community issues, now is a great time plug in! Task Force Meetings over the next month: Education Task Force Meeting July 25th, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm @ First Centenary United Methodist Church Economic Mobility Task Force Meeting July 25th, 6:30 pm-8:00 pm @ First Centenary United Methodist Church Criminal Justice Task Force Meeting 8/6/19, 5:30pm-7:00pm @ The Honest Pint
CALEB's next monthly meeting CALEB's General Meetings take place on the second Thursday of the month. Our next meeting will be August 8th, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm at First Centenary United Methodist Church. We hope to see you there! Interested in yourself or your organization becoming a member of CALEB? Applications and details can be found HERE.
Sarah Berestecky and Allen Shropshire lead a workshop on evaluating issues at the convention Building Power Together Thanks to everyone who took part in CALEB's Issues Convention on Saturday,! It was a great success! Representatives from thirteen member organizations as well as a large number of individual community members came out to plan for action around our city's pressing needs. Pastor Charlotte Williams opened up the morning with a celebration of our successes so far: $70,000 raised for the Hamilton County Community Bail Fund, ten participants bailed out over the past two months...three of whose charges have already been dismissed. Sarah Berestecky and Allen Shropshire provided a workshop overview of criteria for what makes a good, actionable issue. We had break-outs for one-to-one conversations with members of different organizations. Then our member organizations caucused to discuss which issues they wanted to highlight based on what they felt were shared values among our partners. Space was open for nonmembers to recommend potential issues and actions. After facilitated group discussion Pastor Josh Woodrow led the group through a voting process on five possible issue categories. With remarkable support, our chosen issues are:
Campaign development and action steps will be organized by task forces for each issue, and participants were invited to sign up for involvement with their preferred task force. What Comes Now? CALEB's next organizational meeting is Thursday, June 13th from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at First Centenary United Methodist Church. We'll be breaking out into Task Force groups, performing a power mapping exercise around our issues, and beginning the work of identifying campaign goals. We will also be finalizing participants going to 7-day National Leadership Training with the Gamaliel Foundation at the end of the month. We look forward to seeing you there, and building the actions together that will make real change in Chattanooga and Hamilton County. More from the Convention:
Click on the "Register NOW" button below to sign up for our Issues Convention on June 1st!
GAMALIEL AFFILIATES ACROSS TENNESSEE
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CALEB is an institutional coalition of faith-based, labor, and community groups working to build power to affect change in Chattanooga, TN. Archives
October 2019
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