Justice Together

Dear Friends, 

I had a moment last month when I broke down. I learned that the Guatemalan mother and young daughter who were snatched by ICE at SFO and promptly deported, were part of a Spanish-speaking congregation I had visited. I told my good friend’s long-time neighbor that he had no viable immigration pathways and faced the real possibility of ICE showing up at his home because his application had been wrongly denied. And then there was the father with the cancer diagnosis who was part of another Spanish-speaking congregation. Having exhausted all his appeals, he confronted the impossible choice between surrendering himself for deportation on the scheduled date or remaining with his family and continuing his cancer treatment. The coalescing of these three stories made evil and cruelty feel hauntingly close to home. 

Perhaps this is an example of the “inescapable network of mutuality” that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. highlighted in his Letter from Birmingham Jail over 60 years ago. Injustice in our communities should be felt by all because of our shared humanity. So I am grateful for the gift of Jubilee’s growing partnerships with local congregations. Keep reading to learn more about our new project to bridge faith and immigrant communities.

Community Workshops for Immigrants and Service Providers

In 2025, Jubilee received generous funding from the California Access to Justice Commission (CalATJ) to provide outreach presentations to community partners about how to navigate today’s complex immigration landscape. Our collaborations include informational sessions for schools, healthcare providers, food banks, and immigrant churches. These workshops also provide opportunities for individuals to ask questions about their specific situations. Last month, Jubilee attorney Chenyu Wang presented at a workshop on immigrant-affirming clinical care, held in partnership with UCSF.

Jubilee is excited to expand this collaborative work into 2027 with Justice Together: Immigration Workshops with Faith Communities. These workshops will partner with local congregations, allowing immigrant communities to access legal services in spaces they trust and feel safe in. We will host six Saturday community immigration workshops at various churches across Northern California. A steering committee of local churches will help organize each workshop and mobilize volunteers from their communities. A team of Jubilee staff and volunteers will provide legal consultations, know-your-rights presentations, and assistance with family preparedness packets.

Our first community immigration workshop is scheduled for Saturday, June 13th at a church in Oakland. If you would like to help at one of these community workshops or your church is interested in collaborating in hosting a workshop, please contact us at justicetogether@jubileelegal.org.

By Amy Lee

Executive Director & Immigration Attorney