When a Worker Is Detained, the Whole Family Needs Support

“Where is my family member?”

For families in Cumberland County, that question often begins a frightening and uncertain journey. At CATA, our community organizers work together to help immigrant workers and their families find answers, meet immediate needs, and navigate what comes next.

As one of those organizers, I see how much this support matters—and how urgently it is needed.

A detention affects the whole household

When a worker is detained, a family can lose its main source of income overnight. A parent must suddenly cover rent, groceries, and other expenses alone while finding money so their detained partner can make calls and buy basic necessities. Children worry about where their parent is and when they will return.

Our team starts by listening to what each family needs. Often, the first step is helping locate their loved one. We gather information, coordinate with partners when needed, and explain what families should write down during calls, including their loved one’s immigration identification number, or A-number.

When someone is overwhelmed, clear information and a person they trust can make the next step feel possible.

Support beyond the first call

Finding someone is only the beginning. Our organizers stay in contact as families face new questions and challenges.

We help translate documents, explain what attorneys are requesting, connect families with free notary services, and assist with applications to CATA’s solidarity fund. We also distribute food in collaboration with a food bank to help families meet their immediate needs.

We do not replace legal counsel. We help families understand requests, gather paperwork, and communicate so they can participate more confidently in decisions affecting their lives.

When bond is available, our team helps families explore fundraising and connects them with organizations that may provide assistance. We also encourage families to be cautious of people charging unnecessary fees to act as intermediaries.

Trust makes this work possible

Much of this work happens outside public view: phone calls, messages, document preparation, and follow-up over weeks or months. In the beginning, communication with a family may happen every day.

There are also difficult stretches when we have no updates. We cannot control detention systems or court timelines, but we can keep listening, following up, and drawing on one another’s experience.

Across CATA, our organizers know that trust does not develop overnight. It grows when we show up consistently—in moments of celebration and moments of crisis. That trust helps families reach out and neighbors share information when someone needs support.

Help us sustain this work

Families need support now, and they need it for more than one day.

Donate to CATA to help us reach more families. Join our Rapid Response team as a volunteer. Spread the word so immigrant workers and their loved ones know they can contact us.

Together, we can keep building a community where families have people they can turn to when they need help.