A federally funded left-wing nonprofit that provides legal services for detained illegal immigrants has launched a bond fund that frees them from ICE custody.
Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) partnered with Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE Justice) to establish the Detained Immigrant Bond Fund on June 7, one day after violent anti-ICE protests broke out in Los Angeles. The fund provides "detained immigrants in Los Angeles and Orange Counties with the bond money that allows them to get out of detention, and return back to their lives and families while they build a case to gain status," the announcement page reads.
Through the partnership, ImmDef identifies detained immigrants eligible for release and CLUE Justice, another federally funded nonprofit, pays their bonds through donations. ImmDef then provides them with free legal services, the group wrote in an Instagram post promoting the project.
ImmDef, which was once chaired by Department of Justice employee Marisa Arrona, has received federal funding to do just that, the Washington Free Beacon reported. The group is a subcontractor of the Acacia Center for Justice, which paid ImmDef $17 million last year for contracts approved by the Department of the Interior and Department of Justice to provide legal representation to minors who came to the United States without their parents. The Acacia Center oversees a $769 million federal contract to house and counsel unaccompanied children.
According to ImmDef and CLUE Justice officials, no federal dollars were used to finance the Detained Immigrant Bond Fund.
"The donations to the bond fund have come from over 6,000 individuals who want to help reunite families that have been torn apart by the recent ICE raids in Southern California," CLUE Justice executive director Jennifer Gutierrez said.
ICE allows some detainees to leave federal custody during deportation proceedings if they post a bond, typically set at $1,500 or more, and agree to attend all hearings in their case. An illegal immigrant, however, cannot post their own bond as their case plays out. Instead, a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, law firm, or nonprofit organization—like ImmDef—must post the bond and act as a sponsor. If a detainee fails to attend court hearings or comply with a removal order, the sponsor loses the bond money.
ImmDef launched its bond fund amid escalating tensions surrounding illegal immigrants. A week after the groups announced the partnership, anti-ICE protests spread outside of Los Angeles and across the country, some of which turned violent, resulting in dozens of arrests. The Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America promoted the Detained Immigrant Bond Fund a day after its debut.
ImmDef has long pushed a range of far-left positions on issues beyond immigration. The group has called for dismantling "the police state by defunding and decreasing police budgets" and said it’s "high time we abolish the immigration prison system and abolish ICE."
The Los Angeles County Office of Immigrant Affairs touts ImmDef on its website, listing it alongside the Council on American-Islamic Relations-CA and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), which has been credited for organizing the protests in Los Angeles.
CLUE Justice, a religious-oriented pro-union nonprofit, is also at the center of anti-ICE advocacy in Los Angeles.
The group is promoting a July 3 event, "Shut It Down Freedom Cruise & Rally," that it says is aimed at "refusing plantation capitalism" and bringing "joyful resistance to a day of celebration of the power of the people." A flyer includes "#ABOLISHICE" and "#IMPEACHTRUMP" at the top.
"It’s time to ‘squabble up’ through arts, culture, diversity & equity," the flyer reads. "A people-driven campaign for the divestment from plantation capitalism and other harmful."
The event is part of CLUE Justice’s Def Justice initiative, which "stands for diversity, equity, and freedom."
In 2024, CLUE Justice launched a campaign pushing California lawmakers to pass a "grossly overdue" package of reparations legislation. It hosted several webinars on the topic with Kamilah V. Moore, who chaired California’s reparations task force.
CLUE Justice was founded by James Lawson Jr., a draft dodger who in 2007 called the United States government "the number one enemy of peace and justice in the world today."
But that sentiment didn’t stop CLUE Justice from accepting cash from the government. The group has raked in just under $1 million of taxpayer money since 2020, tax forms show, though none of that was for immigration work, according to Gutierrez. She said CLUE Justice took in federal funding through Community Partners—a fiscal sponsor—and the Public Health Institute "to educate vulnerable people in congregations about how to protect themselves from COVID."
The group also received roughly $250,000 through two Paycheck Protection Program loans, federal records show. Gutierrez said some of its government funding came from pandemic-era tax credits, but didn’t indicate how much.