Hi Friend, 

As we honor Juneteenth, I’m excited to report we’ve just launched a critical initiative that will advance our vision of an abolitionist future rooted in Black liberation. As our theory of change states, we believe that when Black people are free, we will all be free. And the work of dismantling the institutions that perpetuate white supremacy — like the prison industrial complex and the immigration detention system — must be undertaken together, as these interconnected systems are one and the same. 

Our new initiative, Project Keep Away, will bring these aspirations to life by disrupting the prison-to-ICE pipeline. Nationally, about 70% of people arrested by ICE are transferred directly from the prison system into ICE custody. In California alone, that adds up to roughly 1,500 transfers every year. 

 Here’s how it works:

ICE arrests people when they are scheduled to be released from prison, usually because the agency is trying to deport that individual. These arrests may be coordinated directly with prisons, or ICE may show up unannounced on an individual’s scheduled release day. Despite serving their time and completing their sentence, our community members are re-incarcerated by immigration detention on the very same day they would otherwise be going home. 

When this happens, immigrants are punished twice for the same conviction, a practice called double punishment. This process disproportionately punishes Black people and reinforces systemic racism by propagating the existing racial disparities of over-policing, profiling, and convictions into the immigration system. In fact, 20% of people facing deportation on criminal grounds are Black despite accounting for only 7% of non-citizens living in the U.S. 

This is where Project Keep Away comes in. We’ll empower community members both inside and outside of prisons with educational resources, trainings, and other programming, as well as a live, free helpline available to people inside two California prisons (the Central California Women’s Facility and the California Institution for Women). Those at risk of ICE transfer can call the helpline and access our resources in order to learn about what to expect in the face of re-incarceration and how to prepare themselves so that they may have the best possible outcome in their case. 

We must disrupt the overly-punitive and criminalizing system of double punishment, and I’m confident Project Keep Away will empower the community to do just that as we continue to push for more long-term, legislative solutions that roll back these racist, outdated laws. 

Show me more about Project Keep Away 

Let’s not forget: Behind each and every ICE transfer is a human being, a family, and countless other loved ones. Every blocked transfer helps us chip away at the larger carceral and deportation dragnet, reuniting families and reclaiming power to us, the people, along the way. 

At FFI, we seek an end to all carceral walls. With Project Keep Away, we’re doing the work to support one another with the dignity, love, and care we all deserve. We’re excited to roll up our sleeves.