About the New Sanctuary Movement:
Our Work
Through grassroots organizing led by affected immigrants, we fight and win immigrant justice campaigns with our members across nationality, faith, class, and immigration status. Our community organizing in Philadelphia builds power in immigrant communities to alter the power imbalance, organizes direct action campaigns, builds the individual and collective capacity of the immigrant community, and brings immigrant and ally communities together in solidarity to work for change.
NSM’s Definition Of Immigrant Justice
Immigrant justice is a process that begins by confronting the reality that the immigration system is not broken but works as designed–to keep white people in power and hoard resources by denying the humanity of Black and Brown people and treating them as less than human. Created out of white supremacy violence, it is designed to harm individuals, families, neighborhoods, and communities. Drawing from our faith traditions gives us a vision where all people can live free and safe in the community of their choice with access to the resources they need in order to flourish. NSM’s immigrant justice work supports its members to discover and build their power within to connect with others to transform oppressive systems into ones of liberation.
All of our committees, which are at the heart of leading, organizing, and strategizing NSM’s campaigns and programs, are led by members of the Indonesian, Latinx, and Afro-Caribbean communities. Community members, clergy, and key leaders identify leaders who are then supported in their leadership development through personal coaching, political education, skills-training, and involvement in campaign committees, action groups, and coalitions.
In 2018, NSM’s Familias Unidas Committee established and built the structure of our Community Fund for Bond and Legal Support, which is the only fund in PA run by immigrants to help immigrants get a family member out of detention or pay for legal fees. Families in crisis-fighting for asylum call or knock on NSM doors asking for help. When they qualify, they get monetary support to pay for legal fees which prevents family separation through detention or deportation of loved ones.
Our local fund has allowed NSM to join the The National Bail Fund Network where we can serve as a link to connect detained folks to resources to free loved ones in different parts of the country and learn about ICE’s newest tactics. The committee helps raise funds for bonds or legal fees actively monitors the structure of the fund and makes changes if necessary to prioritize families on the ground.
