Emergency Response Program

At Casa San Jose we have a team of on-call attorneys and volunteers who respond to ICE detentions in the Pittsburgh area. They go to Pittsburgh’s ICE office on the South Side to gather information about the detention, hopefully speak to the detained individual, and then connect them and their family with services.

One of those services is the Fondo Solidario which provides 0% interest loans to help get community members out of immigration detention and back with their families so that they can fight their case from home.

Fondo Solidario recipient Leo with his mother, his partner and Laura Perkins, our Emergency Response Organizer.

We also provide legal clinics in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh’s Immigration Legal Clinic once every two months. Potentially more important than our emergency response work is the work we do educating the community on their rights. Together we develop emergency plans for individuals, their families, and the community at large.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

If someone either witnesses or experiences an ICE detention, they should call 412-736-7167, our emergency response number, which is operated by our Emergency Response Organizer, Laura Perkins.