My Nonprofit Reviews

Immigrants held at ICE's Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, WA are lonely, cold, bored and frequently don't know where they are in the US. Many were brought to Tacoma at night on a plane from the Southern border. They may be held for weeks or for many months, with little to no opportunity to communicate with family or legal counsel. During that time, AID NW provides craft supplies, books, phone cards, and the opportunity to correspond with local volunteers by letter. When they are released, to either be deported or to join family elsewhere in the US while their asylum case is processed, they come out of the door with nothing but the clothes they came in with. AID NW is there to meet them at an RV set up in the parking lot as a welcome trailer. They staff it with kind volunteers who provide the released detainees with snacks, water, backpacks and coats, and transportation to the airport or housing for a few nights. Without AID NW's help, these immigrants would be released in the industrial Port of Tacoma area with nothing, and would be wandering hungry and lost, unable to speak English and get safely to family and friends.