Migrant Support Collective

October is Community Action Month! 📢

Migrant Support Collective invites you to imagine a liberated future.

This October, we’re hosting an event series that uses art and storytelling to raise awareness around the realities of ICE detention for LGBTQ+ migrants. Come learn, create, and connect with community. All events are free and open to the public.

➡️ Imagining Collective Liberation: Why art matters for LGBTQ+ migrant rights
🕑 Oct. 4, 1-4pm | Center on Cottage Grove
🔗 https://givebutter.com/imagining-collective-liberation

➡️ Create for a Cause: The Intersection of Health, Immigration, and Art as Advocacy
🕑 Oct. 15 (time will be updated in link) | UChicago
🔗 https://givebutter.com/create-for-a-cause-msc

➡️ Stories in Action: A community gathering with MSC
🕑 Oct. 24, 2:30-6:20pm | Center on Halsted
🔗 https://givebutter.com/stories-in-action

Save your spot, bring a friend, and join us in building the future we know is possible. 🧡

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Send us a DM and we’ll share more info on sponsor tiers and benefits!

Calling artists in Chicago who are passionate about LGBTQ+ and migrant rights!

To conclude the first year of our Art as Advocacy Program, we are inviting one guest artist from the community to contribute their own voice to the collective alongside artwork made by our detained members. Art will be showcased in October during Community Action Month.

For details, benefits, and more info - visit the link in our bio!

Volunteer at Migrant Support Collective as a Phone Pal! We’re currently seeking 7 more volunteers to support our hotline and data transparency program.

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

Visit the link in our bio for more information 🫶🏼

🍦 Save the Date! 🍦

Join us for an end-of-summer Ice Cream Social Fundraiser at Jeni’s Ice Creams in Wicker Park on Thursday, Aug. 13 from 4-7pm!

25% of all sales during the event (scoops, pints, and merch) will be donated to Migrant Support Collective. Come grab a scoop (or two) of your favorite flavors while supporting programs and services for migrants detained in the U.S.

While you’re there, you can also:
🍨 Learn more about MSC and our work
✍️ Make buttons & write letters to people in detention
🤝 Get involved in other ways to support our community

Bring your friends and come support a great cause!

📍 Jeni’s Wicker Park, 1505 N Milwaukee Ave
🗓️ August 13, 2026
🕐 4-7pm

Call the Hotline 📞

For individuals currently detained under ICE custody, and for family, loved ones, or organizations supporting someone who is detained. Call for resources or to refer a loved one to our programs.

Live Hours 🕒

Tuesdays: 1 pm - 3:30 pm CT
Thursdays: 9:30 am -12 pm CT

The live hotline will be paused during the last week of each month. If the hotline is paused or you are unable to reach us, the option to leave a voicemail will be available.

www.migrantsupportcollective.org/hotline

Llama a la Línea de Apoyo 📞

Para personas que actualmente se encuentran detenidas bajo custodia de ICE, así como para familiares, seres queridos u organizaciones que apoyan a una persona detenida. Llame para recibir información sobre recursos o para referir a un ser querido a nuestros programas.

Horario de la Línea de Apoyo 🕒

Martes: de 1:00 p. m. a 3:30 p. m. (hora central/Chicago)
Jueves: de 9:30 a. m. a 12:00 p. m. (hora central/Chicago)

La línea de apoyo se pausará durante la última semana de cada mes. Si la línea está pausada o no puede comunicarse con nosotros, podrá dejar un mensaje de voz y le devolveremos la llamada lo antes posible.

www.migrantsupportcollective.org/hotline

📚🌈GIVEAWAY ALERT 🌈📚

For the next 48 hours only, donate $25 or more to MSC to be entered in a sweepstakes to win a book bundle generously donated by Three Avenues Bookshop!

Or, request a free entry through our contact page (migrantsupportcollective.org/contact). No purchase necessary to win. 

📕 The House in the Cerulean Sea, a cozy LGBTQ+ fantasy (and our members’ favorite book of 2026!)
📙 Somewhere Beyond the Sea, its bestselling sequel
💗 A $10 giftcard to Three Avenues Bookshop

Total value: $50

Your donation does more than just enter you to win this amazing bundle – every dollar you give directly supports LGBTQ+ migrants in ICE detention:

🪥 Toothpaste can cost $11
📲 A 15 minute phone call can cost $17
💌 A single stamp can cost $1

The giveaway closes TOMORROW at midnight – so don’t miss your chance to win an amazing prize from our generous community, while supporting LGBTQ+ migrant rights!

We’re so grateful to Chicago’s Three Avenues Bookshop for making this possible! ♥️🧡💛💚💙💜

Today, we are honoring the memory of Roxsana Hernández Rodriguez, a trans woman from Honduras who died at the age of 33 in ICE custody in 2018.

An autopsy report showed that Roxsana was beaten while in ICE custody before dying due to a lack of HIV treatment. Roxsana was kept in a freezing room, denied medical care, and made to sleep on the floor. 

We see the stories of Migrant Support Collective’s members in Roxsana. Trans migrants deserve to live safely, joyfully, and with dignity. By supporting our work, you provide access to mental health resources, community connection, and advocacy work that fights against the systems that failed Roxsana and continue to harm trans migrants today.

Roxsana, nunca te olvidaremos. 
Roxsana, we will never forget you.

Come celebrate Pride Month on June 20th at a local South Minneapolis art fair! 🌈

This is a free community event and open to all neighbors - this art fair will support our programs for LGBTQ+ migrants in ICE detention. Come browse local artisan goods and learn more about our work!

Event Overview:
- Saturday, June 20th from 12-4pm
- Outdoors at Bancroft Meadows (4124 Bloomington Ave)
- Find more information, including accessibility details, at wafflestudioshop.com/event/msc-fundraiser/.

Thank you Miranda Martin for organizing this!

When Charlotte came to the United States as a transgender migrant, she hoped to find safety, freedom, and dignity.

Then, she was detained by ICE.

Speaking with LGBTQ Nation Charlotte shared, “I thought they’d take care of us, give us more freedom, recognize that we have suffered the most, we are the most vulnerable. We came from our countries being horribly treated, and we get here and they treat us horribly.”

In ICE detention, trans migrants:

➡️ Are 10x more likely to be sexually assaulted.
➡️ Face harassment from staff and other people in detention.
➡️ Are frequently denied medical care.

Migrant Support Collective wants to change that. We’re working with LGBTQ+ migrants to amplify our community’s stories, connect people with care, and fight for collective liberation.

In honor of Pride Month, join the fight for LGBTQ+ migrant liberation by supporting our work (link in bio).