It’s been over 100 days since the second Trump administration entered the White House. In stark contrast to their violent and sweeping efforts to criminalize, detain, and deport immigrants, there is a deep network of people who are building communities centered on freedom.

At Envision Freedom Fund, where I am the co-executive director, we’ve always known the criminal, legal, and immigration systems operate together to target, punish, and disappear people. While this has become more visible and dangerous under this administration, we’ve spent years responding to it with care and strategy.

Since 2018, we’ve freed more than 1,000 people from immigration detention by paying bonds totaling nearly $9 million. And we have the data to prove that this intervention improves immigration case outcomes, reunites families, and restores communities.

One of the people Envision has freed—I’ll call him Mr. F—endured inhumane conditions and labor exploitation while detained in Orange County Jail in Goshen, New York. He was funneled into the immigration system because of contact with the criminal legal system connected to his struggle with substance use. He and others in detention were punished with solitary confinement after launching a hunger strike demanding fundamental rights, like adequate food and medical care. We were able to pay his bond and reunite him with his family. Now, as a survivor of what he calls a “house of terror,” he is healing, thriving, and fighting for others.

These are the victories that define our work at Envision Freedom and what drive us to continue fighting in the face of what we’re seeing from the federal, state, and local governments. In just 100 days, this administration has revived the Alien Enemies Act, repealed Temporary Protected Status for several countries, passed the Laken Riley Act, and escalated coordination between local police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement through 287(g) agreements, labeled migrants as threats to national security, and disappeared people into institutions of state violence in Guantánamo Bay, El Salvador, Louisiana, and Texas.

Here in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams have undermined the state’s sanctuary claims by showing a willingness to support federal enforcement. Adams cleared the path for ICE to return to Rikers Island before a judge blocked the move in late April, and Hochul’s state police have been sharing a database of alleged gang members with ICE.

And, of course, these are only partial lists of the immense damage and chaos wrought through enforcement raids, expanded detention capacity, and thousands of deportations without due process.

As the largest immigration bond in the country—and the only one in the greater New York area—we have a front-row seat to how the last 100 days have impacted migrants. Despite higher bond amounts and ICE stalling releases, we’ve continued to get people out. This year alone, we’ve paid over $300,000 in bond to free 38 people.

Through our hotline, people in detention contact us directly to report what’s happening inside and make commissary requests. A recent caller at Orange County Jail said, “A lot of people are being transferred, but many people are still detained. The food is not good, it never is. Not even animals should eat this food. Most correctional officers are racist and make derogatory comments towards us.” He also told us that people in detention fear retaliation if they speak up and that they are losing hope.

On the outside, through our post-release program, we help families access resources they need to help with housing, health care, and legal representation. Our rapid response work includes workshops on how to prepare for a possible arrest and how to identify scams that target immigrants with false promises of legal help and immigration paperwork.

We’re also pushing for long-term structural change. Legislation like Dignity Not Detention and New York for All would end ICE contracts in New York jails and prevent local agencies from acting as immigration enforcers. At the same time, we’re supporting the fight to recover millions in bond money to reinvest in our communities, not ICE’s coffers.

Let’s be clear: President Donald Trump didn’t create this system. He’s building on decades of policy failures that criminalize migration and rely on punishment as a default. But at Envision Freedom, we are building something else: a future in which safety comes from community power and healing, not policing and prisons.

So while the White House fans the flames of chaos, we offer a different vision. And we need others to join us. Here’s how:

• Support bond funds like Envision Freedom that free people every week.
• Urge New York lawmakers to pass Dignity Not Detention and New York for All.
• Speak out—in your workplace, your school, your neighborhood—against the criminalization of immigrants.

We’ve lived through more than 100 days of punishment and abuse. We’ve also lived through 100 days of freedom and care. Together, we can set the course for what the next 100 and beyond will look like.

Editorial Team:
Lara Witt, Lead Editor
Carolyn Copeland, Top Editor
Rashmee Kumar, Copy Editor