Law Lab Bond+ Fund

In late May, over 100 immigrants were detained at the federal prison in Sheridan, Oregon, simply because they came to the United States to seek asylum. By early August, every individual represented by the Law Lab won his claim to stay in the country to pursue asylum. 

After many court hearings, pleas, public appeals, and direct action, over 90% of the men in Sheridan have been released from detention. However, like elsewhere in the country, many individuals remain detained despite having won their credible fear claims and having bona fide grounds for release. They remain detained because their freedom is contingent on securing and paying a bond—bond that neither they, nor their families, can afford.

We need your partnership to secure the release of the asylum-seeking individuals who remain detained and to support them in uniting with their families and communities. 

We also need your partnership in moving beyond bond. The mass detention apparatus of the Trump Administration uses a flawed and immoral bond system. The bond system creates untenable stresses on families and communities and is at odds with our values as a nation. 

So this cannot only be a bond fund. This fund will also develop a prototype for a new system to replace the flawed and oppressive power dynamic of the current bond process.

Our experience at Sheridan and in detention centers across the country underscores the need for an alternative to bond. As we fight for the release from detention for those still detained, let us create a legacy that extends beyond this moment in time, and envision a world in which mass detention ceases to exist. 

We hope you will join us.

--

If you would like to make a gift through another method (e.g. check, wire transfer, PayPal) and would like it to apply to this special fund or have any questions, please email victoria@innovationlawlab.org.