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March 10, 2017
DAVENPORT, IA - A new organization has been founded to help raise bail money for undocumented immigrants being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in eastern Iowa.
The Immigration Advocacy Coalition of Iowa (IACI) has founded the Eastern Iowa Community Bond Project (EICBP). IACI includes the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa, the Center for Worker Justice, the American Friends Service Committee, IowaAIR and other community organizations, religious institutions and individual advocates.
"We want to assist detainees who have been arrested and are undergoing deportation proceedings," said Joe Enriquez Henry of Des Moines, the national vice president of the Midwest region for National LULAC. "These people are often asylum-seekers who have fled violence in their home countries, and we want to help them stay safe in the United States."
Individuals who are held in immigration detention centers can be eligible for release on bail pending their court hearing, but many do not have the money needed to pay their bail.
"Posting bail allows a person to return to their community to work, to attend school and to care for their children while their case is pending," said Natalia Espina of Iowa City, the director and spokeswoman for EICBP. "If detained, the immigrant can lose their job, housing and custody of their children in addition to facing the regular hardships of incarceration."
The Eastern Iowa Community Bond Project pays for the bail of those who cannot afford it. The amount of bond in immigration court typically ranges from $1,500 to $7,000. Once the individual's case is resolved, the bail money is returned and used to help other individuals.
Anyone who would like to donate to the project can go to www.communitybondproject.org. The Eastern Iowa Community Bond Project is currently applying for charitable tax deduction status. Email info@communitybondproject.org for more information.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation's largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. LULAC's programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future.
For more information, contact Enriquez Henry at 515-208-7312, or visit www.lulaciowa.org.
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Dhayes1@dmreg.com; ghr@iowatelecom.net; newspapr@grinnell.edu
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