After extensive organizing by EPISO to block the largest planned ICE detention center in the nation, the Trump administration is now abandoning its proposal – a major victory for leaders who’ve fought for decades to protect local water and the dignity of their neighbors. 

"Who is My Neighbor?" Civic Academy Leadership Team

Advancing a future based on truth and the dignity of their neighbors, VOICE gathered over 250 leaders for a civic academy — busting myths about immigrants, and preparing to turn what they learned into direct support for families who need it.

The Rev. Loyd Divinagracia encouraging parishioners with EPISO after meeting with Lower Valley Water District Board in Socorro, Texas

In their town of 30,000, EPISO leaders from Socorro, TX learned that ICE bought three warehouses for $123M to create one of the largest immigrant detention centers in the country, threatening to detain 8,500 people. Refusing to accept this, they organized hundreds of residents, ultimately scaling back detention center plans and postponing the construction start date.

[Excerpt from Houston Chronicle Op-Ed by TMO leaders Bishop John Ogletree, Jr. and Rabbi David Lyon]

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo left home Tuesday before dawn to spend another day building homes for future Houstonians. Instead, during what U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement described as a “targeted enforcement action” on Houston’s east side, the 35-year Houston resident and small business owner was killed.

We are Houston faith leaders, and our congregations belong to The Metropolitan Organization, a nonpartisan group that seeks the justice that so many of our faith traditions demand. We mourn Salgado’s death. And we demand an independent investigation into the enforcement strategy that led to it.

After hearing testimony at one of six public hearings One LA-IAF has held since November 2025, Congresswoman Luz Rivas introduced the HEART Act, a bill to redirect $76 billion to mental and health services for communities impacted by ICE raids.

In collaboration with the Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Omaha, Omaha Together One Community (OTOC) hosted civic academies on Catholic Social Teaching, immigration, and organizing with 400 Anglo parishioners — building new relationships with Omaha's three largest parishes and giving parishioners a deeper understanding of the immigrant experience.

[Excerpt of Tulsa World Op-Ed by Lynn Minden, leader with Tulsa Lutherans in ACTION, in photo]

"....José came to America legally.  He followed the steps our government provides people who are being targeted and oppressed.  He, like many others, was waiting to have his case heard in immigration court.  He was a hard worker who paid taxes.  He was a valued member of the Tulsa community and of my church family. 

As 41,000 central coast residents risk losing state-sponsored healthcare, COPA is expanding their constituency and urging California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas to push back. 

A testament to fighting for the promise of democracy, Coloradans for the Common Good (CCG) and Mountain Voices Project (MVP) brought together 400 leaders and candidates for governor and attorney general for the largest action of Colorado’s primary election campaign season. Leaders shared powerful testimonies and secured public commitments from every candidate to take specific action on labor, education, housing, immigration, and consumer protections in Colorado.

At the urging of the Inland Communities Organizing Network (ICON), Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval organized a public hearing with over 100 people to allow residents to testify on their experiences with detainments and encounters with federal immigration agents.

Responding to declining school enrollment, pervasive fear, and what one ICON leader described as "a crisis of disappearing families," this was the second public hearing emerging from One LA's award-winning freedom school strategy.