In 2025, Neighbors United for Mutual Support has been a lifeline for hundreds of immigrant families in Chicago. Our network of over 300 volunteers and donors has accomplished remarkable work together.

Your support has enabled us to:

• Help hundreds of people file asylum applications and secure work permits so they can work legally, support their families, and afford legal representation

• Provide emergency financial assistance to over 200 families facing hunger, utility shutoffs, eviction, and family separation through detentions and removals

• Reopen about ten cases in which people had received removal orders 

• Distribute essential items—clothing, shoes, household goods, food, English learning materials, toys and children's books—to hundreds of people

• Build a solidarity network among asylum seekers and people who have lost parole and whose temporary protected status is limbo, including a revolving loan fund and relatively spaces to connect and share resources

We’ve accomplished this even as the attacks on our new neighbors have increased. About a dozen people we helped are now in detention, as men are being seized at routine ICE check-ins and leaving terrified families without their primary earner. Detention is being weaponized to force people to abandon their asylum claims. Meanwhile, legal processes that were once free have become prohibitively expensive as a result of the Big Beautiful Bill. For families already struggling, these fees can be insurmountable.

We are working to secure releases from detention, provide legal support, and help families afford the fees that stand between them and safety. But we’re also making strategic investments to strengthen our services and make our work more sustainable.

• We’ve hired a full-time paralegal/administrator to help with legal case management processes, day-to-day work, and volunteer training and guidance, thanks to the support of an anonymous donor.

• We received our first significant grant from Crossroads Fund, as an investment in our operational infrastructure.

• We’ve developed partnerships with Catholic Charities and other mission-aligned service organizations to expand our clients’ network of support.

In 2026, we know that attacks on our new neighbors will continue. Your donation today will help us move strategically and collaboratively to meet their evolving needs. Donate before January 1st for your donation to be doubled.

Happy holidays, and thank you for supporting our new neighbors this year!

Maureen Graves, Founder