Envision Freedom Fund

For immigrant families navigating the detention system in Brooklyn, freedom can come down to a dollar amount bond that must be paid in full before a loved one can return home.

Envision Freedom Fund has worked for nearly a decade to ensure that freedom is not determined by what someone can afford. The organization started as a community bail fund in 2015 under the name Brooklyn Community Bail Fund. In 2021, recognizing the growing need among immigrant families, it shifted its focus to paying immigration bonds. Since then, Envision Freedom Fund has paid more than $11 million in bonds and secured the release of more than 1,200 community members from ICE detention.

While Envision Freedom Fund is based in Brooklyn, their impact stretches beyond the borough. In recent months, community members have been transferred to detention centers as far away as California, forcing families to navigate additional travel costs, legal fees, and the challenges of staying connected across long distances.

Release from immigration detention depends on a family’s ability to pay large sums of money upfront. Due to this, advocates argue that the cash bond system is one of the most unjust features of immigration detention.

Momunbek Kardyrkulov, an asylum seeker and father of seven, arrived at a routine immigration check-in at Federal Plaza expecting to return home to his family later that day. Instead, he was detained and held for more than three weeks while his loved ones waited anxiously for answers. His release required a $10,000 bond. Rosa Santana, Executive Director of Envision Freedom Fund, saw his story on social media and took action.

On February 9, Momunbek was released and reunited with his family. Families already navigating economic instability are often forced to make an impossible choice between taking on crushing debt or leaving a loved one behind bars.

For Envision Freedom Fund, paying bond is about interrupting that cycle.

After paying an immigration bond that often ranges between $10,000 and $30,000, a staff member from Envision Freedom Fund or a volunteer from partner organizations drives to the detention center to pick a person up after their release. “For us, seeing that freedom, that’s what keeps us going, that’s what keeps us here,” says Santana. For Envision Freedom Fund, release is only the first step.

When someone walks out of detention, Envision Freedom Fund supports them with a post-release program, led by a social worker to assess immediate needs and provide basic financial assistance. Each person receives a welcome home packet that includes essential information, legal referrals, and a gift card to help cover immediate expenses.

The organization also operates the only live immigration detention hotline in New York State, ensuring that people inside detention can speak directly to someone outside. For many, that human connection is just as critical as financial support.

Amid broader federal immigration enforcement policies, demand has increased and funding remains a constant challenge; Envision Freedom Fund shared that their work is urgent and relentless. Immigration bonds must be paid in full, often within days. Families who cannot afford them risk prolonged detention, sometimes hundreds of miles from home.

In 2025, Envision Freedom Fund set an initial goal of paying $500,000 in bonds. By year’s end, the organization had paid $1.3 million, and that momentum has continued into 2026.

In just the first quarter of 2026, Envision Freedom Fund has already paid 1.3 million dollars in bonds, freeing 116 people from immigration detention. That is five times more than they freed at this same point last year. “The surge in bond requests is unlike anything we’ve seen, and our team is responding with everything we have,” says Santana.

Support from Brooklyn Org played a critical role in making that possible.

“When we found out we were receiving support from Brooklyn Org, we couldn’t believe it,” Santana says. “It has been so helpful to continue paying bonds and to sustain our staff. That funding is connected to people’s freedom.”

Brooklyn Org’s funding provided direct bond support and served as a launching pad for growth by helping the organization expand its capacity and strengthen infrastructure during a period of surging demand.

With bond requests continuing to rise, the organization has set a goal of paying $2 million in bonds this year. For the families waiting outside detention centers and courthouse hallways, those dollars mean freedom.

In New York, Envision Freedom Fund stands as a reminder that collective action can transform a bond amount into a pathway back home.

This story was written by Victoria Liverpool.