Join us to celebrate Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity’s 25th anniversary with our fourth annual 2026 Love Over Fear Benefit Concert, an inspiring evening of music and storytelling. Experience a powerful lineup of incredible local BIPOC musicians, as we explore themes of journey, justice, and liberation. Proceeds from the concert will advance IM4HI’s work to demand the full humanity of every individual through immigration and decarceration advocacy, accompaniment, and the leadership development of directly impacted leaders and faith allies. In this time where fear is so present, we can’t wait to gather our beloved community together to commemorate 25 years of IM4HI’s prophetic witness and ground ourselves in love for the years to come.
Doors open at 6:00pm / Show starts at 6:30
Tickets are general admission, sliding scale $20-50. If you are unable to attend, please purchase a “Pay-It-Forward” ticket to be used by one of our immigrant/formerly-incarcerated leaders.
We are deeply honored to welcome back Benjamin Mertz (aka BenjaSoul), renowned composer, performer, and beloved IM4HI Board Chair— as this year’s producer. Known for his roots in the Black Spiritual tradition, BenjaSoul brings a sound that is both healing and transformative—perfect for this powerful evening.
Join us for a weekend of unity with the local community in Kern County; lifting up the lived experiences and demands of people impacted by immigration detention, and their family members. This is the fifth year of our annual pilgrimage, where people impacted by detention and/or deportation, their family members, faith leaders, community members, and organizers come together to bear witness to the harms of detention centers, as well as practicing and envisioning what it means to Become a Beloved Community.
Our pilgrimages are part of a statewide campaign for detention closure and for the liberation and well-being of all people. While the power of our community has helped close 9 out of 15 ICE detention centers over the past decade, the unlawful and violent attacks and disappearances of immigrants has meant that the number of those detained has doubled since 2025 exacerbating already dangerous conditions: of overcrowding, denial of basic medical care, and a high risk of death.
Additionally, since the beginning of 2005 two new detention centers have opened in Kern county and the threat of further detention expansion in California looms. Local California communities which host ICE detention facilities also struggle with a lack of food security, dignified jobs, adequate housing and medical care in the shadows of billion-dollar private prison companies operating without transparency and accountability.
This year we will converge in Kern County, to highlight the daily lives of not only the people held within the four operating detention centers of the Central Valley(See picture above), but also of the people living outside within these communities. We will visit Bakersfield (home of the Mesa Verde ICE Detention Center), McFarland (home to Golden State Annex and Central Valley Annex), and California City (home to California City ICE Detention) and engage with the local community through acts of service and Beloved Community to address their needs and concerns. The pilgrimage will conclude with an Interfaith Pilgrimage walk to the illegally operating California City ICE Detention Center. A detention center that opened without having the proper permits or business licenses in the local California City community.
Please join us for the Pilgrimage/Encuentro ’26:Becoming Beloved Communities / Construyendo Comunidades Amadason the weekend of October 22nd to October 25th.
WHEN: 3pm, Thursday, October 22nd through Sunday, October 25th at 3pm
WHERE: Starts in Bakersfield on Thursday (10/22), McFarland on Friday (10/23), and California City on both Saturday (10/24) and Sunday (10/25).
Who do we want to come?Immigrant people, allies, families/individuals impacted by immigration detention, faith leaders, students, local organizers, community members. People who are open to learning, serving, and taking action.
PARTICIPATE AS AN ORGANIZATION
Who do we want to come?Allied organizations who are fighting for the abolition of carceral systems. Organizations who work for the wellbeing of their communities: healthcare, food sovereignty, etc.
CAN’T MAKE IT? DONATE!
Sponsor a participant. Help raise commissary funds for those detained and mutual aid for the local Kern County community, which we will bring to the Pilgrimage/Encuentro ’26.
Thank you for your interest in attending our Pilgrimage/Encuentro ‘26: Becoming Beloved Community/Construyendo una Comunidad Amada set for October 22nd to October 25th. Where we experience a weekend of unity with the local Kern County community; by lifting up the lived experiences and demands of people impacted by immigration detention, and the daily struggles of their family members. While we highlight the daily lives of people within and outside of detention centers; we aim to showcase the creative ways our people are organizing to Become a Beloved Community. Through acts of service, humility, and conversations we will create webs between individuals from all over California.
To form part of our Pilgrimage/Encuentro ‘26 as an INDIVIDUAL, follow the next steps.
Select your package to attend our Pilgrimage/Encuentro ‘26 for FOUR days.
(Click image above to register)
Plan a mutual aid event in your area, where we will raise $$ for commissary funds for those detained and mutual aid for the local Kern County community, which we will bring to the Pilgrimage/Encuentro ’26.
Donate to local Kern County partner organizations, who are currently supporting people impacted by the immigration system.
Thank you for your interest in attending our Pilgrimage/Encuentro ‘26: Becoming Beloved Community/Construyendo una Comunidad Amada set for October 22nd to October 25th. Our Pilgrimages are part of a statewide campaign to shut down detention centers throughout California, here we join faith leaders, community members, impacted leaders, and more, to highlight the dehumanization of immigration detention while calling for a unified and healthy society. Additionally, we aim for our Pilgrimages to serve as a stepping stone in organizing, not the final goal. Our final goal remains the end of all detention centers.
To form part of our Pilgrimage/Encuentro ‘26 as an ORGANIZATION, follow the next steps:
Bring and Register your local members of your organization and pay theirpackage to attend our Pilgrimage/Encuentro ‘26 for FOUR days.
(Click image above to register)
Optional: ENGAGE BEFORE THE PILGRIMAGE/ENCUENTRO ‘26
Planamutual aid event in your area, where we will raise $$ for commissary funds for those detained and mutual aid for the local Kern County community, which we will bring to the Pilgrimage/Encuentro ’26.
Host in-person gatherings for our Pilgrimage/Encuentro ‘26 Orientations, to get to know participants before the event.
Sponsor an individual to attend our Pilgrimage/Encuentro ‘26, by donating here.
Thank you for your interest in our Pilgrimage/Encuentro ‘26: Becoming Beloved Community/Construyendo una Comunidad Amada set for October 22nd to October 25th. We understand that everyone’s reality is different, and therefore some of our community members simply cannot attend.
However, you can still form part of our Pilgrimage/Encuentro ‘26 by following the next steps:
Donate to local Kern County partner organizations, who are currently supporting people impacted by the immigration system.
Sponsor an individual to attend our Pilgrimage/Encuentro ‘26, by donating here.
Planamutual aid event in your area, where we will raise $$ for commissary funds for those detained and mutual aid for the local Kern County community, which we will bring to the Pilgrimage/Encuentro ’26.
Uplift the demands of our Pilgrimage/Encuentro ‘26. More information to come.
The Imperial Liberation Collaborative (ILC), Imperial Valley Equity & Justice (IVEJ)Dignity Not Detention (DND), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity invite you.
This full-day gathering will bring together community members, impacted families, organizers, faith leaders, and statewide partners to bear witness, build relationships, and take collective action in response to the ongoing harms at the Calexico ICE Detention Center, named the Imperial Regional Detention Facility.
There is a long and well-documented history of systemic harm, including medical neglect, unsafe environmental conditions, and the retaliatory use of solitary confinement at this ICE prison. This encuentro is a call to witness these realities, uplift the voices of those directly impacted, and organize toward collective solutions. This day will celebrate the strength of our community. Across the Imperial Valley, organizations are already responding—providing visitation, supporting people upon release, and building the power needed to end immigration detention. This convergence is an opportunity to deepen that work together.
The day will include community testimony from impacted individuals and community members, educational workshops, a faith-led procession through Calexico, a reflection and learning exchange at the border, and a press conference calling on officials to address the conditions inside detention. Funds raised will support commissary accounts for detained individuals.
We invite new and interested community members from near and far to come and learn more!!! Please join us!
The Imperial Liberation Collaborative (ILC) was born from inside detention itself—organized by people in detention who refused to accept injustice in silence. Today, ILC works alongside regional and statewide partners to challenge the isolation faced by detained community members and their loved ones, and to advance dignity, accountability, and liberation through abolition.
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