Justice For The Unjustly Detained

One of the many ways that Judaism influences my life is how I think about giving our resources to those less fortunate. Our Jewish sages teach that giving from a sense of duty is on a higher moral plane than giving from a sense of compassion. This makes sense when you think about how compassion is an emotion that can ebb and flow while duty does not change.

If your compassion is at a high tide and drives you to give to others, and if your giving makes you feel better about yourself, that’s all to the good. But if you see the world beset by an overwhelming and growing flood of injustice, you may think that nothing you can do will make a jot of difference in the scheme of things. Then, compassion can become an insupportable burden, a feeling of helplessness best to be avoided. I’ve felt that way this year many times.

In Jewish ethics, however, the fluctuation in my “feelings” does not mitigate my obligation to act when I see injustice and have an opportunity to do something about it. It’s a moral law.

Recently, I had an opportunity to correct injustice by supporting Envision Freedom Fund, the organization I discuss below. Envision helps to secure and pay for bonds so that undocumented immigrants deemed by federal judges to be neither a societal threat nor a flight risk can be released from homeland security prisons while they await the outcome of their immigration court proceedings.

Envision Freedom Fund

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “ICE,” has become increasingly aggressive in imprisoning American residents who are not documented as citizens. The Trump administration had said it was going to target criminals. Now, as ICE conducts broad and undifferentiated sweeps across the country, anyone without the proper documentation lives in fear of being arrested and detained indefinitely in facilities that are indistinguishable from prisons.

Some of the people detained have no criminal record and have deep ties to family and to their community, including jobs. People with these characteristics are supposed to be eligible to be released on bond, subject to the approval of a federal immigration judge and their ability to post the bond, which in New York averages about $10,000. Unlike bail, the entire amount is required, which is often a financial impossibility for the detained person.

As a practical matter, to get a bond hearing the detained person will generally need a lawyer to navigate the process. Envision’s model is to work closely and actively with a network of lawyers, some at not-for-profit organizations like Legal Aid, some in private practice. If their clients are granted a bond, the lawyers will contact Envision who will fund the bonds and get detainees released so they can live their lives pending the disposition of their immigration case.

More than 90% of released detainees will do what they’re required to do in terms of court appearances and so 90% of the bonds are not forfeited and are returned to Envision once the case is decided.

The current administration has been hostile to the granting of bonds. Long held rules have been altered and pressure put on immigration judges to reduce bond availability. Despite these pressures, some judges continue to follow the law. Recently, ICE has been appealing the granting of bonds in the hope of mucking things up through bureaucratic maneuvers. Undaunted, Envision will often have to send the bond request three times before it is accepted.

My recent opportunity with Envision

I heard about Envision initially through my work as a volunteer strategic advisor to the Robin Hood Foundation. A few years ago, Robin Hood made a zero-interest loan to Envision to support Envision’s funding of bonds. I participated in that loan.

More recently, given the aggressive actions of ICE and the overwhelming demand for bonds, I learned there was a short-term gap in Envision’s funding stream. Once a bond becomes available, Envision has to act right away or the bond option is gone.

As an individual, I was able to act quickly to make another loan to Envision based essentially on a handshake. There was no time for paperwork. My loan resulted in a dozen bonds being funded and a dozen people released from detention.

The lawyer for one of the people released had this to say about his client:

“Mr. S was literally dancing in his seat. It is the first time we have seen him smiling since we got the case. He is finally coming out of a deep depression, and sends his many thanks to Envision for bonding him out. Thank you, as always, for the incredible work you do to free people from these cages!”

The people at Envision are the heroes of this story. Their victories come one by one while so many of the people they are asked to help will never be granted the opportunity to be released. It is hard, grinding, uphill work against forces that are far more powerful. Yet every detainee they rescue means so much. ¹

What You Can Do

I know many of you are already giving your time and resources to seek justice. However, I have two asks regarding Envision.

• Envision’s not-for-profit legal network has limits to its capacity. Accordingly, Envision needs more private lawyers in the New York area who would be willing to take on cases on a pro bono or “low bono” basis. While some private immigration lawyers are fair in their fees, many take advantage of people caught in a desperate situation to charge unconscionable fees. Often, that’s the reason the client doesn’t have the money to post the bond themselves. If you know of firms or attorneys that might take on cases on a compassionate basis, please let me know.

• If you have connections with organizations that serve vulnerable communities, let me know as it could be mutually beneficial to connect them to Envision. I’ve introduced Envision to some of the other organizations my wife and I work with in communities with a high proportion of undocumented people vulnerable to ICE. Envision is a resource to call and can also provide valuable education to the people in these communities about what their rights are and what preparations they can make ahead of time in case they are detained. ²

  Email me at robertsdavidn@gmail.com. Link to Envision here.

Powerful closing words

I often quote this famous Talmudic saying because I think of it often as a spur to my own action.

“If I am not for myself, who will be? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?”

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The Starfish Story

“Inspired by The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley (1969)

Once, there was a man walking down a deserted beach at dawn. In the distance, he saw a young girl picking up starfish that had been washed ashore. One by one, she threw them back into the water.

As the man approached, he asked what she was doing. She replied, “I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. The tide is low, and if I don’t throw them back, they’ll die from lack of oxygen.”

The man looked around and shook his head. “But there are thousands of starfish on this beach. You can’t possibly save them all. And this is happening on hundreds of beaches up and down the coast. Can’t you see that you really can’t make a difference?”

The girl smiled, bent down, picked up another starfish, and gently tossed it into the sea. ‘Well, it made all the difference to that one;.”

1. From safe lives.org.uk

2. One example is that a single parent with minor-age, American-born children should have in place a power of attorney for legal guardianship with a trusted friend or relative so that if the parent is detained and the children need to be reunited with their parent, the children can obtain a passport. Without the power of attorney, that might not be feasible.