Ways to Take Action After the Vigil...

Thank you for standing with us on August 28th! A vigil is a beginning, not an ending—here are a few ways to carry that energy forward. You don't have to do all of these: Choose one!

1. Contact Governor Braun and Commissioner Lloyd Arnold

Demand that Governor Mike Braun to publicly oppose the expansion of ICE detention at Miami Correctional Facility, and to demand transparency about the state's contract with ICE/DHS.

✉️ Send a message to Gov. Braun via his website (you can find text suggestions for your message at the bottom of this page, but personal messages in your own words do carry more weight!).

🖊️ Tell Lloyd Arnold, the Department of Corrections Commissioner, to end ICE detention at Miami Correctional Facility. Click here for a pre-written letter to Lloyd Arnold you can edit and send in seconds.

2. Support Immigrant Communities—Directly

Not "follow them on Facebook." Reach out. Learn what they need. Find out what you're willing to commit to. Spend money at their local businesses.

Here are five ways to plug in:

Indiana Organizing Project: Mutual Aid
Support immigrants and their families directly, especially those with a detained loved one — gathering and delivering donations, accompanying neighbors to ICE check-ins or court hearings, and helping with whatever else comes up. Speak a language besides English? Interpretation and translation skills are especially needed on this team.
🔗 Join the team

Indiana Organizing Project: Public Witness & Action Team
Plan, organize, and turn out for public actions — what many faith traditions call public witness. This team handles logistics, materials, programming, social media, and safety marshaling, and invites community members to join. Musicians, visual artists, poets, and performers welcome: as we stand against injustice, we're also building beauty and joy.
🔗 Join the team

Indiana AID (Assistance to Immigrants in Detention)
A volunteer-led organization working alongside the Indianapolis Liberation Center to support families immediately after an ICE arrest. They help families locate loved ones in ICE custody, navigate detention facilities (including the Clay County jail), and connect with immediate legal resources.
🔗 indianaaid.org  📞 Voicemail: 317-721-4044 

National Immigrant Justice Center — Language Services Volunteer 

NIJC provides free legal services to immigrants from around the world. Many clients don't speak English — your interpretation or translation skills help NIJC communicate with the people they serve. No certification required, but volunteers must be 18+, speak English and another language at an advanced conversational level (fluent enough for legal terminology), and be willing to sign a confidentiality agreement and handle sensitive material with compassion and professionalism. Filling out the form doesn't guarantee you'll be contacted — NIJC reaches out when an opportunity matches your language and availability.
🔗 Sign up 

Support Local Immigrant-Owned Businesses
Take your family out to a local ethnic restaurant. Grab a coffee with a friend at one of the new Arabic or Latino coffee shops. Explore some international cookbooks at the library, then go grab some recipe items at an international grocery store. Spend more money at shops and restaurants where you notice most employees are the same ethnicity.

3. Donate

Time and presence aren't the only ways to show up — these organizations rely on financial support to keep doing this work.

Indiana Organizing Project 🔗 Donate here

Immigrant Welcome Center 🔗 Donate here

Indiana AID 🔗 Donate here

National Immigrant Justice Center 🔗 Donate here

4. Bring One More Person Into the Movement

Movements grow one relationship at a time.

Who are you going to bring with you next time—and how will you get them engaged?

5. Protect Our Vote

A functioning democracy is the foundation everything else stands on. We must defend our immigrant citizen neighbors' right and ability to vote. We must safeguard free and fair elections without interference.

Register to vote, check the status of your registration, become an election security pollwatcher, learn how to defend post-election attempts to delegitimize the election results, tell everyone you know to check their voting status, learn your civil and voting rights and share with others.

🔗 Register to vote, check your voting status, or find your polling location at IndianaVoters.IN.gov

🔗 Become an Election Protection pollwatcher with Common Cause Indiana. Email info@fishersresists.org to join our pollwatcher team!

🔗 Read the "Know Your Rights" docs from ACLU Indiana and share that info with immigrants, neighbors, and family.

🔗 Take online trainings about defending our elections from Indivisible and other organizations.

6. Get Out The Vote

Change requires votes!

Become a pollworker to ensure full staffing at all locations so citizens can vote quickly, safely, and reliably. Support GOTV efforts by doorknocking, phone banking, or posting on your social media in support of your local party or favorite candidates. Have earnest conversations about the candidates with open-minded independents and Republicans you know.

🔗 Apply to be a (PAID!) county pollworker with the Hamilton County Election Board

🔗 Volunteer to help one candidate get out the vote in your neighborhood, precinct, and city.

🔗 Read how to "Reach the Unreachable" and other guides from MADVoters and learn to discuss politics with someone who has different views.

🔗 Attend a Fishers Dems meeting or event with a neighbor, friend, or family member. 

Choose just one action. Start there. Make a difference.

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Send a message to Gov. Braun: SUGGESTED TEXT

Need help deciding what to write? Below is some suggested text for your email to the governor. We encourage you to add personalized comments or experiences at the top of your message. 

Send your message to the governor via his website (choose “Immigration” as the topic):

Subject: Urgent: Terminate the ICE Contract at Miami Correctional Facility

Dear Governor Braun,

As an Indiana resident, I urge you to immediately terminate the Indiana Department of Correction’s contract and operational agreement to house ICE detainees at the Miami Correctional Facility.

State resources and facilities should not be used to facilitate federal civil immigration detention, especially given the documented history of severe medical neglect and preventable tragedies at this site. Housing federal detainees inside a state prison endangers lives, strains state infrastructure, and does not align with Indiana's values.

Please exercise your executive authority to end this agreement immediately and ensure Indiana state facilities are no longer used for ICE detention.

Thank you for your time and prompt leadership on this urgent matter.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[Your Phone Number / Email]