Volunteer at Migrant Support Collective as a Phone Pal!

About Migrant Support Collective

Migrant Support Collective (MSC) is a fiscally sponsored organization of Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD). The traumatic conditions of ICE detention threaten LGBTQ+ migrants’ physical and psychological safety, and drain the energy they need to reclaim their power. But when LGBTQ+ detained migrants become members of Migrant Support Collective, they gain access to programs that provide the resources they need to take leadership as organizers in the fight to end detention. Guided by the expertise of our members, Migrant Support Collective advocates for an end to detention through innovative programs that combine policy, storytelling, the arts, and mental health.

The Data Transparency Project at Migrant Support Collective

Through grassroots storytelling efforts, we will collect and amplify the experiences of trans and queer people in detention. These stories are powerful tools for change: they expose the inhumanity of immigration detention and challenge narratives that erase LGBTQ+ voices from public discourse.

We will work with movement partners to publish these stories in reports and social media campaigns that center the dignity and agency of detained migrants. We look forward to publishing data on local ICE detention practices, conditions, and experiences. This initiative is designed to increase transparency and accountability, using data-driven insights to inform the public, support policy advocacy, and push for structural change.

About this opportunity

As a volunteer, you will have regular virtual (phone or video) meetings with LGBTQ+ migrants in ICE detention. During those meetings, you will:

• Check in on their wellbeing
• Be there as someone to listen, providing community and empathy
• Take notes on discussions in MSC’s confidential database, gathering insight on people’s experiences and stories

Responsibilities

• Complete an orientation to learn about ICE detention, its impacts on LGBTQ+ migrants, and how the hotline functions
• Have one 1-hour call each week with the member you are assigned to
• Have one monthly supervision check-in with the Hotline & Advocacy Coordinator
• Take detailed notes on members’ stories and detention conditions in MSC’s secure drive

Qualifications

• Fluent in Spanish
• You like chatting, getting to know people, and being a listening ear
• Empathetic, open-minded, and nonjudgmental
• Comfortable working with people who have a history of incarceration
• Comfortable working independently with minimal supervision
• Skilled at de-escalation and risk assessment
• Passion for LGBTQ+ and migrant rights
• Aligned with Migrant Support Collective’s abolitionist values and vision of a future without incarceration