Volunteer for Immigrant Justice

Episcopal City Mission partners with LUCE (ICE Watch) and BIJAN (Beyond Bond & Incarceration Justice – Accompaniment Network) to support immigrants facing detention and deportation. Whether you want to show up in person, help from home, or provide housing, there are many ways to get involved.

1. How to Get Started

  • LUCE (ICE Watch): Sign up at lucemass.org under the ICE Watch Interest Form. After filling it out, LUCE will connect you to a training (in-person or Zoom) and add you to a local hub.

  • BIJAN (Accompaniment Network): Explore volunteer needs here and fill out their sign-up form.

📱 Important: Volunteers with LUCE or BIJAN use Signal, a secure messaging app, for all real-time communication. Download it for phone or computer before starting.

2. Volunteer Opportunities

Join Here to Volunteer from Home

  • Letter Writing: Exchange letters with people in immigration detention.

  • Commissary Donations: Help ensure $20/month reaches detained immigrants. BIJAN reimburses costs.

  • Court Accompaniment (online): Join 4-hour Zoom/Webex hearings to show solidarity and take notes.

  • Follow-Up Tasks: Research, make calls, send reimbursements, or write support letters.

  • Action Hours: Participate in monthly online events for collective action.

Direct Support

  • Court Accompaniment (in-person): Attend hearings in Boston or Chelmsford to witness and support.

  • Hotline Support: Answer calls from detained immigrants (4-hour weekday shifts) or families (weekly shifts, flexible). Spanish required.

    • Family line: Kathleen McTigue (kathleen.mctigue@gmail.com)

  • Driving: Provide rides to ICE check-ins, medical appointments, or court.

  • Hosting: Offer short-term housing for migrant families (days to weeks). Read FAQ + Apply. Contact: Kathleen McTigue (kathleen.mctigue@gmail.com)

Special Roles

  • Sponsorship for Migrants in Detention: U.S. citizens in MA can sponsor someone to help secure release on bond. Sponsors provide a letter of support and proof of residence/income. Usually requested 1–2 times per year. Contact: Kathleen McTigue (kathleen.mctigue@gmail.com)

  • Faith Leaders: Join BIJAN’s faith leader Signal group. Contact: Elizabeth Nguyen (elizabeth.b.nguyen@gmail.com)

👉 Ready to volunteer?

If you aren't hearing back and need help connecting with either LUCE or BIJAN, reach out to hannah@ecmteam.us

Volunteers Needed

Needed: Attorneys, Paralegals, and Multilingual Volunteers

No Immigration Experience Necessary

Episcopal City Mission is currently looking for help from congregations in MA to identify and recruit parishioners who are (active or retired) attorneys, paralegals, or multilingual (Spanish/Portuguese/Haitian Creole) and would like to support pro bono asylum cases under the guidance of a professional immigration staff attorney.

We have partnered with De Novo Center for Justice and Healing in Cambridge MA, which provides free legal support for asylum cases and other kinds of immigration cases to prevent deportation. Volunteers must be prepared to dedicate 5-10 hours per week, and lawyers will play a “second chair” role - they will not be filing themselves or representing asylum-seekers in court.  

Tasks:

  • Help with legal research or country conditions research.

  • Review hearings and gather information on new judges in Massachusetts.

  • Help interviewing clients and drafting affidavits. 

  • Volunteers with habeas corpus experience or criminal experience that can consult with De Novo’s immigration staff as needed. 

Helpful Experience:

Language skills in Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole are extremely helpful. De Novo clients are very diverse with a wide range of needs. Volunteers must be comfortable working with people from any culture, religion, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic or other background. Affidavit interviews entail volunteers meeting with a client without a staff person present and asking about traumatic events the client has experienced. De Novo provides training and ongoing supervision, but volunteers must be comfortable navigating these conversations and be trauma-aware.

ECM is recruiting a cohort of 5-15 faith based volunteers who will support De Novo’s cases. This expands their ability to take more clients at a time when free and low-cost immigration legal aid is very hard to find. We hope the group will begin by Fall, 2025 though individuals may start sooner. Applicants will be interviewed to make sure it’s the right fit, but it is not a competitive process. To express your interest and learn more, please e-mail hannah@ecmteam.us. 

For any legal volunteers with at least 2 years of immigration experience, we are currently also looking for volunteers to help with De Novo’s immigration clinic. Here is information specific to that for volunteers. (Here is also info for clients needing the clinic, open to clients statewide.)