We believe that everyone deserves dignity, fairness, and the chance to stay with their loved ones. Your support strengthens the network of organizations fighting every day for immigrant justice and family unity.
The Defending Our Neighbors Fund is powered by everyday people stepping up to create a vital lifeline for immigrant families navigating one of the most complex and punitive systems in the country. Backed by United We Dream and the ACLU, and hosted by the Abundant Futures Fund — a fiscally sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors — the Fund provides urgently needed support so families can access trusted legal representation and, when possible, bond assistance.
For millions of families across the U.S., immigration enforcement is a constant threat that can tear households apart in an instant. Over 6 million U.S. households have a family member at risk of detention or deportation. At the same time, the federal government continues to invest billions of taxpayer dollars — more than $170 billion in recent years — into expanding detention and deportation systems while reducing support for legal service providers.
People are often forced to navigate immigration courts without an attorney, including children and long-time residents with deep roots in their communities. Legal representation is one of the strongest predictors of whether a family can stay together, yet more than 2.5 million people in immigration proceedings lacked legal counsel in 2024.
The Defending Our Neighbors Fund was created to meet this need head-on.
The Fund launched as a rapid-response effort to surge resources to legal service providers to address the growing escalation of enforcement activity and mounting barriers to due process. Coalition partners, including United We Dream, ACLU, and Abundant Futures Fund, identified a growing crisis:
To move quickly and equitably, UWD and the ACLU partnered with Abundant Futures Fund, enabling the Defending Our Neighbors Fund to raise and rapidly deploy resources to trusted, local organizations positioned closest to the need.
We have set a goal of raising $30 million. As we raise funds, we quickly deploy them to the field through grants to organizations that have a track record of providing immigration legal defense for people in detention and facing deportation and assistance with paying court-set bonds, when possible.
Our work centers on four core impact areas that reflect the most urgent needs of immigrant families.
Funding is prioritized for organizations that are in areas of greatest need and have the opportunity to make maximum impact. This includes, for example, organizations: serving communities with large immigrant populations; operating in legal deserts; located near major detention or processing centers; and representing vulnerable groups, including children, women fleeing violence, and people at risk of deportation without due process.
The Defending Our Neighbors Fund helps ensure resources reach families quickly and equitably through quick, strategic grantmaking. Our grantee partners work in regions across the country. In our first year, we’ve funded groups working in the South, Gulf Coast, Midwest, Southwest, West, Northeast, and beyond. We prioritize support to partner organizations with deep community ties, an established track record, and the ability to respond rapidly in this environment of heightened enforcement.
The Fund closely tracks where all grants are deployed, and reports on measurable impact, including:
Updates are published in the Press and Impact sections of the site, as well as on our Instagram and Facebook accounts.
We believe that everyone deserves dignity, fairness, and the chance to stay with their loved ones. Your support strengthens the network of organizations fighting every day for immigrant justice and family unity.
