Author: Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity

Categories
Events Updates

2026 Pilgrimage/Encuentro: Becoming Beloved Community/ Construyendo una Comunidad Amada

Pilgrimage/ Encuentro ’26 Day Flyers (English and Spanish)Download

A Message to Our Community 

It is with heavy hearts that we share our difficult decision to postpone this year’s pilgrimage to the Kern County ICE detention facilities. This annual pilgrimage is a co-production with our partner organizations in the Dignity Not Detention Coalition. And after much consultation with them, particularly local Kern-based organizations and legal partners, it became clear that during this statewide, 45-day surge of ICE enforcement in California in the weeks leading up to the election, the safety of our neighbors and participants must come first. We are heeding the call of local attorneys and community leaders, who are on high alert responding and preparing families through rapid response networks. We are seeing the uptick of ICE arrests around the state and want to encourage people to focus time and resources to support those affected locally. The last time we cancelled the pilgrimage was in 2020 during COVID-19, and this is another statewide and national crisis.

We are so grateful for all the time, music, art, and planning everyone has poured into this and we know many of you were looking forward to this as much as we were, and may feel the same frustration, disappointment, and loss. 

We are so grateful to all the organizers and planners who spent so much time developing a wonderful program; as well as to more than 100 participantswho were ready to serve local communities in Kern County and those inside detention.

We know that this increase in arrests will continue to fill the ICE detention centers and we want to continue our focus, support and public pressure in service of the more than 6,000 people held in ICE detention across California.

Please read below how you can redirect to take collective action and learn more about detention centers in California as well as support to communities impacted by ICE presence.   

How You Can Keep Building Beloved Community for those in ICE Detention in Kern County and in California: 

We won’t let the walls separate us from those in ICE Detention in California.

Donate Commissary for People detained to get food & phone calls they need to survive, especially those without family who can support them. Help be their community!  KWESI: Supporting commissary deposits to all people within the Kern County detention centers. Kwesi will be prioritizing commissary donations to WOMXN in detention in California City. Donate any amount you are able to of $25, $50 or more. Learn more about KWESI here.

2 . Write to Those in Detention. Host a letter-writing event to those in detention, especially before the holidays. You will receive a toolkit and a volunteer will guide you on the next steps. To get involved or for more information, contact: lettersofhope@im4humanintegrity.org.

3. Learn More: Save the Date for Our Webinar, “Demystifying Detention in California and What You Can Do” on November 10th at 6:30 pm – 8:00pm 

We will be doing a virtual webinar about detention centers in Kern County, premiering the pilgrimage film and sharing about actions you can take. More details coming soon.

4. Sign the HugsBeyond Bars petition – HUGS BEYOND BARS: People in ICE detention at California City are not allowed to hug or hold their loved ones; not even when they visit. Learn about the campaign to allow contact visits at Cal City and how to take action at www.hugsbeyondbars.organd follow us on Instagram: @hugsbeyondbars Contact alex@ccijustice.orgto get involved. 

5. Stay tuned for more information about how you can organize your group do a Visitation trip and help provide transportation for families who would like to visit their loved ones. If you would like to receive the Visitation toolkit, please contact pilgrimage@im4humanintegrity.org. 

6. Thank you to all those who have helped gather mutual aid items for communities in Kern County and San Joaquin County this past week! We will continue to do this so please stay tuned for the next collection times and drop-off information.

7. Thank you to CIYJA for supporting LGBTQIA+ individuals and youth during the ICE raids in the Central Valley, while organizing for pet food to go to California City animals. Learn more about their pet support here.

We did have a beautiful new T-shirt designed!  If you would still like to  buy a T-shirt please do so by attending the IM4HI’s 4th annual “Love Over Fear” concert on Nov. 19th at 6PM, find more info here.

Finally, we urge everyone to remain hopeful and get more organized. There are many actions we can take to create safety and belonging for all to help us Become the Beloved Community that we know is possible!

Categories
Updates

Sun’s Out, Values Out: Summer Merch Sale is Here! 

[ Shop for Summer Merch here]

Wear Your Values. Support Immigrant Families.

We’re thrilled to launch our summer merch collection! Weave your values into what you wear and wrap yourself in comfort this summer.

Partner with us in reshaping how we understand immigration and public safety — moving from punishment and exclusion toward dignity, care, and the belief that every person is sacred. IM4HI’s summer merchandise is more than fabric; it’s a statement stitched with purpose.

Every faith tradition calls us to care for the stranger, protect the vulnerable, and honor the dignity of all. Join us in uplifting everyone touched by incarceration and immigration enforcement.

Every piece you wear is a small act of solidarity — and every purchase powers our movement all season long.

Sale runs through [August 21] — order today, quantities are limited on several items.

Shop with purpose. Wear your values. Support immigrant families.

COLLECTIONS 

All People are Sacred Signature Collection 

Get your hands on our signature IM4HI t-shirt and sweatshirt, showcasing original artwork by Bay Area artist Alex Rae Phelps. These fair trade organic cotton sweatshirts, available in a beautiful light green, feature our slogan, “All People Are Sacred Across Bars and Borders.” Choose between a yellow or pink flower — and act fast, because these beauties won’t last!

Love Over Fear Collection 

Our exclusive golden yellow Love Over Fear campaign t-shirt, launched during our Love Over Fear Oakland Campaign that lifted up stories of community members creating spaces of love for the Town. This t-shirt features the incredible artwork of Oakland artist, Francis Mead. When you wear this shirt, you’re choosing to replace fear, xenophobia, and racism with love, forgiveness, and shared humanity — contributing to the creation of safe and thriving communities.

Pilgrimage Collection 

Carry a piece of our collective journey with you. These limited-editions commemorate our pilgrimages in the Central Valley, where faith allies and community members gathered to advocate for an end to detention and deportations and to uplift the dignity of all families.

Convergence for Our Dignity (Pilgrimage 2025) 

Wear a soft lilac cotton that carries the memory of last year’s encuentro — the gathering where our community came together in solidarity and dignity. Over three transformative days, more than 200 people bore witness, honored lives impacted by detention and incarceration, and demanded an end to the harm caused by private prison corporations like GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Journey to Freedom (Pilgrimage 2024)

Guillermo Medina Reyes, a directly impacted member of our community, created the original artwork for this cerulean blue shirt. Our community wore it as a prayer on our 2024 pilgrimage to end detention. Wear it as a piece of living history — a way to walk alongside a movement, even on days you’re just walking to work.

Pathways of Hope Collection 

A community cooking showcase inspired this collection, where IM4HI families brought their cultures and cuisines to the table — from Nigeria, Haiti, Laos, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, China, and beyond — celebrating the way a shared meal builds beloved community. The turtle design at its center symbolizes resilience, migration, and perseverance: slow, steady, always moving forward, always carrying home along with it. Tie on the apron for your next family dinner or potluck, and let it spark the story-telling — a beautiful way to bring the spirit of the movement into your kitchen.

Limited Edition: 2026 Interfaith Soccer Tournament Jerseys 

This limited edition jersey for justice was designed for the IM4HI soccer team that played in the annual California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice’s Just Goals “Soccer Tournament for Liberation.” The team included  formerly detained leaders, faith leaders, and families who’ve turned soccer into a platform for advocacy. 

As the World Cup winds down, keep that energy going. Grab your own jersey for justice and represent a community fighting to end ICE detention, one match at a time.

Get yours today and wear your support for immigrant justice on and off the field.

Pre-Order & Pickup Details

Summer merch is limited — order quickly through [square] to receive your items in August.

Pick up: IM4HI Office pickup is available in-person ONLY on 

August 18 from 12pm – 6pm or August 20 from 10am – 6pm 

Shipping: Prefer not to pick up? Shipping is also available on our Square site for an additional fee. 

Email office@im4humanintegrity.org for questions or more information. 

Thank You for Supporting Our Movement

Visit our shop now, choose your favorites, and let your style reflect your commitment to equity, justice, and beloved community.

[ Shop Now ]

Categories
Media Updates

Statement on the Deaths of Johan Sebastian Guerrero, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and the Many Other Lives Lost at the Hands of ICE 

Image by Peg Hunter

We are heartbroken and deeply saddened by the unjust killings of Johan Sebastian Guerrero, 26, who was fatally shot by ICE in Maine July 13th,  and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52,  who was shot in Texas on July 7, 2026. 

Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family, friends, and communities of Johan Sebastian Guerrero and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo as they navigate these devastating losses. Guerrero was a hardworking and devoted father of a 3-year-old daughter, and Salgado was a loving husband, father of 3, and a valuable member of his community.

Unlike the ICE killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, the video footage of Araujo’s death has not been released and has not received the same public attention or media coverage.

We uplift  the demands from the families and leaders in Houston and Maine and urge you to contact your Member of Congress.
They are calling for:

1. A full and independent investigation into Lorenzo’s and Johan’s killing. 

2. The immediate release of the three men detained with Lorenzo, including his brother, and protection for all witnesses from intimidation, coercion, or deportation.
 
3. An end to local collaboration with ICE in EVERY city and state they occupy.

Our faith traditions say, Do not kill and take the life of another. Our faiths cherish peace, calling us to resist the empire and care for the vulnerable. Across our faith traditions, we share a common moral vision: Every human is sacred and deserves to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect. Every family should not have to live in trauma stemming from needless and preventable violence. We are called to support one another, grieve together, and resist systems that devalue human life. No family should have to face such a tragedy.  We believe that community and moral courage are more powerful than fear.  We reject the normalization of war, state violence, surveillance, deportation, and detention as tools of social control — in our neighborhoods, at our borders, and across the world.

Since the beginning of Trump’s 2nd term, there have been at least 21 shootings, 10 of them fatal. This horrific moment recalls a very similar incident on April 7 of this year, in the Central Valley of California, when ICE officers shot Carlos Ivan Mendoza, a member of the Modesto community, leaving him critically injured with seven bullets lodged in his body.  Today Carlos is being imprisoned in California City, facing federal charges, with three bullets still remaining in his body.  Last week, a team of IM4HI volunteers were able to visit Carlos in the CoreCivic detention center across a glass window pane, since contact visits are prohibited at the California City facility.     

Despite this layer of separation, volunteers were touched by his deep warmth, kindness and sense of faith, even while suffering excruciating pain due to the facility’s widespread medical neglect. Carlos had heard about Lorenzo Salgado’s killing from inside California City that same day. He shared his belief that God granted him the opportunity to live so he could be a witness to the injustice of detention and work to make the world better by helping others facing criminalization.

As we stand with Houstonians fighting for justice for Lorenzo and community members in Maine outraged by the latest shooting, join us here in California in supporting Carlos as he continues to be persecuted and prosecuted by the federal government.  Please join us at his next federal court hearing in Sacramento, July 27th, at 9:00 am to support him and his family.  To get more information about this court hearing, join the Faith Signal group to support Carlos.  

We commit to leading with love, hope, and community, and must not allow indiscriminate ICE killings and detentions to continue. The IM4HI staff, board and community refuses to look away, to accept excuses, or to sanitize our language. ICE and Border Patrol are fascist, para-military forces committing acts of harm and evil in our country. 

Please collectively pray. We pass along this Litany of Confession for Araujo, written by Texas pastor Rev. Dan de Leon, which we’ve placed here. 

We acknowledge, honor and pray for the many others who have lost their lives due to ICE and Police violence: Alex Jeffrey Pretti, Renee Nicole Good, Keith Porter Jr., Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, Ruben Ray Martinez, Eric Gardner, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor. 

We remember their lives, pay tribute to their families, and stand in solidarity with the communities as they bear the burden of these losses. May their lives not be forgotten. This vicious cycle of violence must come to an end and we say, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!”

The IM4HI staff, board and community urge the following demands: 

  • Defund ICE: We demand accountability and transparency for their deaths and urge ICE agents and officials to stop participating in the persecution of our communities. We call on our elected leaders to act with compassion, courage and urgency.
  • Invest in Community Care: True safety does not come from intimidation or force—it comes from communities that look after one another and practice mutual care. 
  • Show up in solidarity with one another: Vigils, gatherings and collective witness affirm to those most impacted that their lives matter and their experiences are seen.  Visibility breaks through the normalization of state violence to raise awareness about the human cost of immigration enforcement. 

In solidarity, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity