Volunteer with Freedom for Immigrants

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with FFI — your support strengthens our people-powered movement to abolish immigration incarceration!

Please review the volunteer opportunities currently available, then complete the application form at the bottom of this page.

Hotline Volunteers

Currently accepting new volunteers who speak a language other than English

Respond to calls to FFI’s National Immigration Detention Hotline from people in immigration detention, as well as family members seeking support for loved ones in detention. Hotline volunteers further our mission by monitoring detention conditions, reporting abuses, and requesting support on behalf of callers. Hotline volunteers work on 2-hour shifts that are organized in a schedule to ensure we are able to cover calls throughout the day. We need people who are able to project their empathy and understanding over the phone in order to calm and reassure people in detention. We prioritize volunteers who speak a second language. If you are a monolingual English speaker, there is a high chance we will not contact you to volunteer. Volunteers must be available for two consecutive hours; shifts take place M-F between 8am-8pm PST.

Types of shifts:
Detention Hotline: You will be answering calls directly from people currently detained in immigration detention who are calling to report conditions, abuse, and neglect, and to seek out support. Shifts in the middle of the day are much busier (3-5 calls per shift) than shifts in the early morning or late at night (1-2 calls per shift).

Hotline Alternate: You share the times you are usually available (example: Tuesdays 10am-12pm PT) and cover shifts when volunteers are sick, on vacation, or otherwise unable to do their shift.

Other requirements: Must be over the age of 18 years old. Must have access to a laptop, phone, and stable internet. Must be located in the United States.

Community Accompaniment Volunteers

Community Accompaniment Volunteers provide support to immigrants released from immigration detention. Join a growing grassroots movement of post-release community care to demonstrate that we are far more capable of providing refuge to immigrants than ICE and corporate prison contractors. Accompaniment volunteers support those coming out of detention with everyday tasks such as accessing food, shelter, healthcare, transportation, a lawyer, enrolling in English class, purchasing cell phone/phone plan, bureaucratic errands, community integration, direct advocacy, and psycho-social support. We encourage you to volunteer with a local group in the Accompaniment Network.

Translation & Interpretation Volunteers

We encourage you to volunteer with our allies at Respond Crisis Translation.

Legal Volunteers

We encourage you to volunteer with our allies at Immigration Justice Campaign.

Volunteer Application Form

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Freedom for Immigrants! Please complete this form with as much detail as possible so that we can learn more about you and make sure that the volunteering roles you have applied for match your skills. Please allow for a few weeks for our team to process your application and contact you with next steps.

Full Name

Phone Number

Country of Residence

City

State

Zip Codes

Preferred contact

Date of Birth

Gender / Gender Identity

Preferred Pronouns

What language(s) do you speak?

Have you ever worked or interned for a federal agency that handles immigration issues, such as ICE, USCIS, or the Department of Justice, a prison, jail, or juvenile hall?

How did you hear about this volunteer opportunity?

Please share any additional information (name of organization, etc.)

Please describe your experience or skills relevant to supporting people in immigration detention, prison, or other places of confinement or isolation

Would you like to be subscribed to IMM-Print, a publication by people affected by immigration detention?

Are you currently working with any immigrants' rights or other activist groups in your area?

If so, which ones?

Are you familiar with any detention centers in your area?

What programs do you want to volunteer for? (select all that apply)

Answering Hotline Calls from people in immigration detention (for bilingual speakers, to join the volunteer waitlist)

What language(s) would you feel comfortable receiving and writing letters in?

Would you like to use FFI's PO Box as the return address for correspondence, or your own address?

Is there anything you'd like to tell us about yourself that would be relevant in matching you with a pen-pal, or do you have any preferences around who you would like to write to?

What's your address

Address 1

Address 2

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal Code

Country

What's your native language?

Please list all languages in which you can translate and your proficiency:

Do you have professional translation education or experience? *

Additional details (professional experience, education, certifications)

How much time can you commit to volunteering?

Why do you want to become a host?

What strategies do you have to manage stressful situations?

How do you put people at ease?

Are you looking to Sponsor, Host or both?

Are you willing to host Adults, Families, or both?

What gender are you able to host?

How many individuals can you host?

What is the longest you are willing to host?

Do you have any pets at home?

If Yes, what kind of pets do you have?

Do you have a spare room for people you are hosting?

Please describe any additional information that you would like us to take into consideration when matching you with a person in detention?

Please provide three references (with email addresses) who know you personally or professionally and can attest to your ability to host asylum seekers in your home. (By submitting this form you are agreeing to FFI contacting these references to complete background checks)

Why do you want to become a Community Accompaniment volunteer?

Do you have any previous experience, personal or professional, in community accompaniment or support work?

What strategies do you have to manage stressful situations?

How do you put people at ease?

How much time can you commit to volunteering?

Please provide three references (with email addresses) who know you personally or professionally and can attest to your ability to support asylum seekers and other immigrants. (By submitting this form you are agreeing to FFI contacting these references to complete background checks)

Why do you want to become a Vetting Volunteer?

Do you have any experience conducting phone interviews?

If yes, Please describe

What other experience do you have that is relevant to this position?

Do you have basic computing skills that will enable you to do data entry into our database?

How much time can you commit to volunteering?

Please provide three references (with email addresses) who know you personally or professionally and can attest to your ability to support asylum seekers and other immigrants.

Why do you want to volunteer? What motivated you to get involved in this movement?

Do you have any questions, comments or concerns for us?