ABOUT US

Advocates for Immigrants in Detention Northwest (AIDNW) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Washington to serve immigrants detained in, and released from, the Northwest ICE Processing Center.

Our mission and history, our people and partners, have created a impactful legacy over 15 years as we serve immigrants who are seeking a new, safe and successful life in the United States.

Join us with a donation of time and resources to make life more tolerable for people detained in the federal immigration facility operating here on the industrial tideflats of Tacoma.

Our Vision

A welcoming community that affirms the dignity of all immigrants

Our Mission

AIDNW supports immigrants in detention and welcomes them on their release

Our History

Advocates for Immigrants in Detention Northwest (AIDNW) was officially formed in 2009, arising out of NW Detention Center roundtable bimonthly community meetings, where concerned community members, representatives of advocacy groups, social service agencies, faith-based organizations, Congressional liaisons, and immigration officials had been meeting since 2005 on immigration and immigration detention issues. Participants shared their knowledge and experience, and worked to provide practical assistance to detained immigrants and to increase awareness of the Detention Center now called the Northwest ICE Processing Center.

Volunteers for AIDNW increased services in 2014 to offer almost daily support for immigrants. They worked out of their cars, offering backpacks, clothing, snacks, telephone connection and transportation to released immigrants. Later that year, an old RV became the first AIDNW Welcome Center.

In 2017, a part-time Volunteer Coordinator was hired, and services expanded and improved. An updated Hospitality House provided rooms for an office and short-term accommodation for immigrants. The Visitation Program gained a coordinator, and a new, larger RV became the AIDNW Welcome Center. By October 2022, AIDNW had its first full-time Executive Director and over 200 volunteers.

STAFF & VOLUNTEER BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Aidan Perkinson

Aidan Perkinson

Operations Manager

Aidan Perkinson grew up in the coastal town of Brunswick, Maine and recently graduated from the University of Puget Sound with an undergraduate degree in sociology-anthropology. He has always been passionate about social justice issues, which is what initially drew him to AIDNW. Since he was first involved as a volunteer, his passion for the work AIDNW does has only grown. In his free time, he enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, sailing, kayaking, and doing other outdoor activities! He also loves all animals, most especially dogs.

Ben Jones

Ben Jones

Board Chair

Ben Jones joined the AIDNW Board of Directors in October 2023, and serves as Fundraising Committee lead. In his professional life, Ben is a District Manager for Starbucks, supporting twelve stores across Pierce and Thurston counties. He serves as co-chair of Starbucks’ Refugee & Immigrant Alliance, an employee affinity group supporting refugee and immigrant employees and communities. He is also passionate about affordable housing and the unhoused, volunteering with Homes First and serving on the advisory boards of several South Sound enhanced shelters.

Mary Carstensen

Mary Carstensen

Board Treasurer

Mary’s background includes 27 years in the U.S. Army, leading military healthcare professionals and institutions, including the building of a system to support the most severely injured and wounded in recent wars through the many transitions they and their caregivers face. Mary has helped build up several nonprofits and businesses, including the Bob Woodruff Foundation and and intermediaries in support of over 130 communities across the country serving military veterans and their families.

We are thrilled that Mary joined the board of directors for Advocates for Immigrants in Detention Northwest (AIDNW) in November 2023, and that she also continues to volunteer with several other nonprofits in the Pacific Northwest as well as on the East Coast.

Mary Clare Benson

Mary Clare Benson

Board Secretary

Mary Clare Benson joined the AIDNW Board after serving several years on the Finance Committee, and she continue to do volunteer work for AIDNW delivering crafts and deportation bags to the Detention Center. Mary Clare was born in Seattle and spent her school-age years in Tumwater. She graduated from Seattle University with a degree in Business Administration and passed the CPA exam two years later, working in accounting and finance roles for 35 years before retiring.

Mary Clare lived in Seattle throughout her career until she moved to Tacoma a decade ago to be closer to her son and his growing family. She had been following news about the Detention Center and the mission of AIDNW before moving to Tacoma, and is now glad to find herself able to volunteer and contribute to this necessary work we do together in the community.

Dr. Tomas Ramos

Communications & Marketing Committee Chair

Bio TBA

Nicole Contreras

New Member

Bio TBA

Donna Smith

Volunteer Advisory Committee Chair

Bio TBA

Applications now being accepted for additional 2025 board positions! Email: info@aidnw.org for information.

Special thanks go to past Board Chairs for their dedication, vision, and guidance:

Len Johnson • Tim Chen • Bill Tudor • Vanessa de Veritch Woodside • Peggy Herman • Caitlin Boline, Ed.D.

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

IMMIGRATION & RESETTLEMENT SERVICES

World Relief
Tacoma Refugee Choir
Colectiva Legal de Pueblo
Tacoma Community House
Northwest Immigrants Rights Project
St. Leo’s Catholic Church
Peace Lutheran Church
Bookmongers

GRANTING ORGANIZATIONS

GRANTORS

BECU
Cheney Foundation
Norcliffe Foundation
Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation
Gary E. Milgard Foundation
Greater Tacoma Community Foundation
Pierce County Connected Fund
Peg & Rick Young Foundation
City of Tacoma – Phone Funds
Puyallup Tribe of Indians

Partnering with community organizations is a fundamental aspect of AIDNW’s work. While we focus on 1) visiting and getting supplies to immigrants currently in detention, 2) facilitating immediate travel plans for immigrants released from detention, and 3) short-term housing for immigrants who can’t get to family for a few days, there are dozens of organizations in our region who focus on myriad other aspects of support. We depend every week on World Relief to provide host homes, and to help immigrants without prior connections resettle in the area. We depend on Tacoma Community House to help immigrants in our Hospitality House and host homes navigate the acquisition of things like driver’s licenses, public transportation, language services and more. We also know how many immigrants are supported in legal cases by the Northwest Immigrants Right Project (NWIRP) and how many bonds are paid by the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN), among their far-ranging work. We also know that immigrants need community connections like what’s provided by the Tacoma Refugee Choir, and the list goes on.

Grants, on another note, are a pillar of AIDNW’s funding, greatly helping us to achieve remarkable outcomes and serve immigrants in detention and upon their release. With deep gratitude for the support we’ve received, we recognize that each grant represents not just funding, but a vote of confidence in our mission. At AIDNW, we honor the impact of past grants by continuing to innovate, advocate, and effect positive change. Together, with the generosity of Grantmakers, we forge a brighter future for our communities and beyond. We are proud to share the grants AIDNW has been awarded in 2023 and 2024.

NEW 2024 GRANTS

  • 2024: Kaplan Fund Grant
  • 2024: Bamford Foundation Grant
  • 2024: City of Tacoma
  • 2024: Norcliff Foundation Grant
  • Puyallup Tribe of Indians - Charity Trust Board

NEW 2023 GRANTS

  • 2023: BECU Collaboration Grant
  • 2023: Greater Tacoma Community Foundation Grant
  • 2023: Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation Grant
  • 2023: The Peg & Rick Young Foundation Grant
  • Starbucks Foundation Neighborhood Grants Program

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

AIDNW trained volunteers greet released immigrants at the Welcome Center RV just outside the NWIPC release gate. Volunteers provide snacks, beverages, backpacks, and clothing as needed; they charge releasee’s phones to connect with their family or sponsors; then volunteers help arrange their travel by air or land, transporting them to the airport, bus or train stations. Nearby relatives can also arrive to pick them up.

Phones are available inside the NWIPC, but it costs money to make a call. Detained immigrants can call the AIDNW Hotline to request phone funds to contact family, friends, or legal help. AIDNW can provide phone cards in $20 denominations for up to one hundred detainees each month.

Yes, your donation to AIDNW is tax deductible as allowed by law. Advocates for Immigrants in Detention Northwest is a nonprofit, tax exempt charitable organization (EIN # 27-1031009) under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Yes, you can donate specific items of clothing, backpacks, shoes, and arts and crafts supplies via AIDNW’s Amazon Wish List. 

AIDNW serves people detained in the NW ICE Processing Center, and those who are newly released. AIDNW also provides temporary housing to immigrants without a sponsor or family in the area and connects them with other organizations for legal and resettlement services.

Yes, all AIDNW services are provided free of charge to people detained in and newly released from the NWIPC in Tacoma, WA.

AIDNW offers onsite training for new volunteers at the Welcome Center. We explain everything from set up to take down and various situations that occur in between. Volunteers receive informational materials and learn procedures. For volunteers visiting detained immigrants inside the NWIPC, we provide protocols for visiting immigrants, tips on conversations, and meet the new volunteer at the detention center for their first visit.

We offer flexible options to accommodate our volunteers. Some volunteers complete one shift per month at the Welcome Center while others choose to volunteer daily or every week. Shifts are from 2-6 p.m. or 3 p.m. to close at 7 p.m. Visitations inside the NWIPC are limited to one hour by ICE and we suggest a minimum of one visit or more every two weeks. Other volunteer hours, such as in the office or on a committee, will vary depending on the tasks offered by the volunteer.

An interest in helping immigrants new to our country will align with our mission. Fluency in a foreign language is often useful, but not necessary, since AIDNW has volunteer interpreters on call when required.

No, minors are not detained at the NWIPC.

Please submit a new question. We look forward to connecting with you!

    Dozens Of Volunteers – One Volunteer Coordinator

    AIDNW is a lean organization, including just one wonderful Operations Manager who coordinates volunteers to do all the services we provide to immigrants in detention and upon their release, as well as volunteers helping in the office with tasks like depositing phone funds into detained immigrant accounts, organizating gear, and more.

    In essence, AIDNW is a volunteer-run organization. Our board members are volunteers. Our committees are all-volunteer. All visits into detention are by volunteers. All pen-pals are volunteers, and all the books, puzzles and deportation bags are put together and delivered into detention by volunteers.

    All the people staffing the AIDNW Welcome center who help immigrants as they walk out of the detention center are volunteers, and the people who drive immigrants to the bus, train, and airport all volunteer. It’s a wonderful community of people with hearts full of love for service to humanity.

    Join us and make lifelong friends among immigrants and fellow volunteers! Start by completing a confidential application form via your choice of…

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