Columbia GS Student and Human Rights major, Jennie Nelson, brings an exceptional amount of real-world experience to her area of study working with migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers with Detention Resistance.

Detention Resistance is a grassroots, nonhierarchical prison abolitionist collective based in San Diego, California. Our central mission is to end the inhumane detention and human rights abuses at San Diego’s ICE Detention Center. We do this through collective organizing in accompaniment with migrants, refugees, and others who have been criminalized by the state. Detention Resistance provides pre- and post-release support to migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers via cash transfers, transportation, and housing coordination. Members of Detention Resistance also seek to disrupt ICE’s practices of isolation by building lasting relationships with those inside through visitations and letter writing. Our migrant support hotline has also become increasingly crucial amidst the coronavirus pandemic, as we continue to document abuses inside and facilitate communication between detainees, journalists, and local politicians. To donate, or to get more information on how to get involved, visit www.detentionresistance.org. To hear testimonials from those inside, listen to Detention Resistance’s new podcast “Voices of Transborder Resistance” which can be found on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Detention Resistance is an entirely volunteer-run organization, and 100% of proceeds go directly towards the immediate needs of migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers in San Diego and Tijuana.