Deportation Defense Response Team
How We Were Formed & Who We Serve
The Deportation Defense Response (DDR) Team was initiated by four Church of the Brethren Districts (Atlantic Northeast, Atlantic Southeast, Virlina, and Pacific Southwest), working in partnership with On Earth Peace and the Church of the Brethren Office of Intercultural Ministries. The work of the DDR Team is to exhort the church to care for our siblings and neighbors under threat of immigration-related detention and deportation. We exist to serve congregations in all Church of the Brethren districts, and we invite you to join our efforts to learn, support, and advocate for immigrants!
Why Brethren and Immigrant Justice?
The Annual Conference statements in 1982 and 1983 on "Undocumented Persons and Refugees in the United States” and "Providing Sanctuary for Latin American and Haitian Refugees" are evidence that our response to immigrants and refugees has long been a concern of the Church of the Brethren. Now over forty years later, we are witnessing violent attacks across the United States against this group of people.
Church of the Brethren congregations have experienced firsthand the devastating injustices committed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Many members have been unjustly detained and deported, and many more are living in fear—afraid to attend church services, work, or necessary medical appointments. Throughout the country, we are witnessing beloved church members, neighbors, fathers, mothers, and children being torn from their homes, workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods. They are isolated from their families and communities, and many reportedly remain in horrific conditions within overcrowded detention centers. If efforts to release them fail, many of our brothers and sisters are deported to a country they had previously fled, and some even to foreign prisons or camps.
The Deportation Defense Response Team is committed to standing alongside our siblings in Christ and our neighbors affected by this crisis, and we affirm the aforementioned statements as well as the 2022 statement on "Standing with People of Color." We ask you to join us in providing for the needs of immigrants and refugees with your resources and time, raising awareness of this crisis, defending their rights, and demanding that leaders act justly.
A rally for a detained Church of the Brethren member outside the Butler County Jail in OH.
Photo Credits: Irv Heishman
Objectives
- Network & equip districts and congregations with high numbers of immigrant members
- Identify needs and provide resources regarding specific practical ways people can stay safe
- Educate, equip, and network among congregations around our call as Christians to engage in this issue & stand in solidarity with our immigrant siblings and neighbors
- Identify needs and provide resources regarding specific practical ways people can take action in solidarity
Initiatives
- Fundraising for our Immigrant Legal and Mutual Aid Fund for immigrants in Church of the Brethren congregations in need of assistance.
- Organizing Lawyers to Provide Pro Bono & Reduced Cost Services for our Immigrant Siblings
- Book Club: The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong
- Biweekly Prayer Gatherings for Immigrant Justice
- Biweekly Pastoral Care Gatherings in Spanish & Haitian-Creole (email [email protected])
- “Faith in Motion” Stories
- Sharing Stories of Immigrants
- Toolkit of Resources for Individuals and Congregations
For questions about these initiatives, please contact [email protected]
A rally for a detained Church of the Brethren member outside the Butler County Jail in OH.
Photo Credits: Irv Heishman
Donate to the Legal and Mutual Aid Fund
Our goal is to raise $350,000 for our Legal and Mutual Aid Fund and we need your help to keep up with the needs of our members! We've already raised over $220,000! See our most recent press releases: Feb 2026 and Dec 2025 for more information.
To donate as an online payment, please see Legal and Mutual Aid Fund Donations.
To donate via check, please send a check payable to Atlantic Southeast District with “DDR” in the memo line and mail it to:
Atlantic Southeast District, 64954 Orchard Dr., Goshen, IN 46526.
To send checks larger than $10,000 and for any other questions, contact Beth Sollenberger at [email protected]
*Legal Fund donations sent to On Earth Peace or the Atlantic Southeast District Church of the Brethren are designated funds and do not contribute to those organizations’ annual budget needs.
Our Team
Coordinator for immigrant-majority churches: [email protected]
Educator & Organizer for white-majority churches: [email protected]
Founa Badet: Church of the Brethren Director of Intercultural Ministry: [email protected]
Matt Guynn: On Earth Peace Co-Director: [email protected]
Connect with our team by filling out the DDR Survey!
DDR Team and Steering Committee at Annual Conference. Photo Credits: Keith Hollenberg
For inquiries related to legal and mutual aid assistance, pastoral care and support for immigrant-majority congregations, and other needs of immigrant members, please contact [email protected].
For inquiries related to organizing, supporting, and advocating for our immigrant siblings within the Church of the Brethren and neighbors within your community, please contact [email protected].