Dear all,
I’m writing today to share some bittersweet news. After over 11 years, Christina Fialho and I have made the decision to transition out of our roles at Freedom for Immigrants. We’ve made this decision because we are confident that the organization is in a strong position to grow under the next generation of innovative leadership.
Christina and I founded the first visitation group in 2010, and today I’m proud to say that our national visitation network consists of 69 visitation groups across the country. In addition, our team has grown to encompass a talented group of organizers and advocates fighting each day to end detention.
We are excited for this next phase in FFI’s evolution. The Board will be launching a national search for an Executive Director. My hope is this change makes room for new voices and ideas to emerge from the movement. Of course, Christina and I still remain deeply committed to the work and to ending immigration detention. And we will continue to support the leadership of the organization during this transition.
From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you for your leadership and involvement in the visitation program and FFI community. Our accomplishments over the past decade would not have been possible without your tireless organizing, tenacity, and dedication. We look forward to continuing to fight alongside you in the movement to abolish immigration detention.
In solidarity,
Christina Mansfield
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September 30, 2021
Celebrating Over a Decade of Visionary Leadership:
Christina Fialho and Christina Mansfield, Co-Founders and Co-Executive Directors of Freedom for Immigrants, to Transition
OAKLAND, CA -- Today, Christina Fialho and Christina Mansfield announced they will be transitioning out of their roles as co-executive directors of Freedom for Immigrants (FFI), after over a decade of transformational leadership. Fialho and Mansfield have been working alongside the senior leadership of the organization to prepare for the transition and will continue to support the organization during this time of growth. Layla Razavi and Sierra Kraft will serve as co-interim executive directors while the Board launches a national search for a new executive director.
As the co-founders and co-executive directors of Freedom for Immigrants, Fialho and Mansfield helped build and foster a movement that has brought immigration detention into the public light and secured landmark detention laws that prohibit detention. After co-founding the first visitation group in the state of California in 2010 to connect community volunteers to people in detention for one-on-one weekly visits, Fialho and Mansfield identified opportunities around the country to start similar visitation groups. Today, FFI supports a national network of community members operating visitation groups at 69 immigrant prisons around the country.
In addition, with their team, Fialho and Mansfield launched the largest national multi-lingual immigration detention hotline, which gained international attention when it was featured in the seventh season of Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” Freedom for Immigrants also has helped secure the release on bond of hundreds of people from immigration detention. Under their leadership, FFI has grown into a steady and thriving national organization.
“It has been the honor of my life to co-found and build Freedom for Immigrants from an idea into a national nonprofit with a brilliant team of innovators, community leaders and fearless activists. I am thrilled to be leaving the organization at such a high point in its evolution,” Christina Fialho said. “I want to thank each member of this team—particularly the impacted community members who have served on our Leadership Council—our donors at every level, and our partners for taking a leap of faith on us, on this organization, and on the idea that we can build a world without immigration detention. Together, we have exposed an industry that was once shrouded in secrecy. The revolution has begun and the abolition of immigration detention is within our reach.”
“The last eleven years building and growing Freedom for Immigrants have been transformative - both for me on a personal level and for our movement. Our mission, initially, was to end the isolation and abuse of people in immigration detention. Over the years, the scope of our work grew to engage more directly impacted community members in calling for the abolition of immigration detention entirely,” said Christina Mansfield. “Our growth is a testament to the growth and strength of the overall movement. I am so excited to see where the next chapter of leadership takes us.”
Christina Fialho and Christina Mansfield will continue to support the leadership of the organization during this transition. Both Fialho and Mansfield will continue with Freedom for Immigrants as co-founders and honorary members.
“This moment in Freedom for Immigrants’ history is bittersweet. The Board thanks Christina Mansfield and Christina Fialho for their years in building FFI into the powerful force that it has become, and we wish them the very best in their future endeavors,” said Grisel Ruiz, chair of the executive board of directors at Freedom for Immigrants. “We are excited, however, at the prospect of all that the future holds. FFI will step into this next phase with steadfast leadership—in the capable hands of our interim leaders Layla and Sierra—and with a powerful staff faithfully dedicated to fighting for the abolition of immigration detention. Our Board remains unwavering in our commitment to FFI’s evolution and growth, and we couldn’t be more excited to see how FFI continues contributing to a future that invests in Black and Brown people, not cages.”
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