In addition to joining us for an evening of music, dance, appetizers and refreshments at IRTF’s annual Latin Dance, participate in the oppurtunity to win wonderful and specially curated raffle prizes. By purchasing an entry ticket you are actively contributing to IRTF's mission of promoting human rights and solidarity with the people of Central America and Colombia.
to purchase ticket now click here
Human rights groups and defense attorneys are demanding the immediate release of Salvadoran opposition leaders, noting that the state's investigation deadline expires on June 14 with absolutely no evidence presented after two years of detention.
Mamuka was not a public safety threat, may not have broken a single law, couldn't be deported, and shouldn't have been arrested. ICE forced taxpayers to pay $18,000 detaining him anyway.
This Quixote Center report reviews the conditions causing a hunger strike to take off at Delaney Hall Detention center in Newark. From Rotten, moldey and maggot infested food that is served to detained children and adults to shattered infrastructure and cancer patient medication on tylenol this report exposes the deliberate profit over dignity policy resulting in a statewide occurence of detention conditions resembling the ones in the Delaney Hall Detention Center.
Between May 23 and May 30, communities across Ohio are coming together for a statewide week of interfaith vigils in solidarity with people held in civil immigration detention (a.k.a. ICE jail). Faith leaders, organizers, and community members will raise their voices, hold space for reflection, and stand in collective action. This coordinated week of action calls for:
An end to ICE detention
Transparency on detention facility funding
An end to 287(g) agreements
https://ohioimmigrant.org/blog/2026/5/19/interfaith-vigils-at-all-six-ic...
Last month, approximately 300 students at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) in Tegucigalpa gathered to protest proposed reductions to the university budget and to demand compliance with the constitutional mandate guaranteeing funding for public higher education. During the protest, police forces deployed tear gas, armored vehicles, and rubber bullets against demonstrators. As a result of this repression, at least one student suffered severe injuries, including the loss of an eye.
Witness accounts indicate that the protest began as a peaceful demonstration and that students were exercising their legitimate democratic right to advocate for the protection of public education. Instead of facilitating and safeguarding this constitutional right, authorities responded with disproportionate force that endangered the lives and safety of young people.
The violent response to these demonstrations reflects a broader pattern in which public dissent is met not with dialogue, but with intimidation and violence. The right to education and the right to peaceful protest are fundamental pillars of any democratic society, and attempts to silence students through force undermine both democratic participation and public trust in state institutions.
Newly conducted voice analysis investigations by Earshot, confirms leaked audio files, revealing U.S. Intervention in Honduras, to be moderatley authentic.
IRTF is among the many organizations committed to human rights across the Americas urging the release of political prisoner Ruth López in El Salvador. May 18 marks one year since she was arrested at home in her pajamas on a Sunday at 9:30pm with the bogus charge of embezzlement. Ruth had been serving as lead human rights attorney for the organization Cristosal.
Despite Ruth’s request for a public trial, the Salvadoran government continues to pursue non-public proceedings, raising serious concerns about due process, transparency, and the protection of fundamental rights.
TAKE ACTION to demand the release of human rights lawyer Ruth López.
(1) Use the campaign toolkit to share Ruth’s story with social media graphics, sample posts, scripts to contact legislators. Click here.
(2) Repost and share campaign posts: Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook. #FreeRuth
(3) Circulate reports, interviews, statements, and stories about Ruth.
(4) Tell Congress to support legislation to condition US police/military aid to El Salvador on human rights improvements and request a US State Department briefing on efforts to secure the freedom of Ruth López. Click here
This article by El Pais examines the incarceration of Luis Pacheco and Héctor Chaclán, representatives of 48 Cantons of Totonicapán, which is one of the strongest organizations of the Indigenous movement in Guatemala. They are political prisoners, detained on false charges of terrorism.
This is Wendy Bilgen. I am one of the newer members of the IRTF Board of Trustees. I had hoped to begin this letter with something lighthearted and encouraging. I promise I will get there. But first, I want to share what has been on my heart.
I have been trying to catch my breath these past months. The political landscape shifts so quickly. In our own communities, families brace for ICE, we lament the devastation in Gaza and the West Bank, the relentless militarization that is reaching across borders and lands on our doorsteps. The forces of injustice bank on our exhaustion. The system is engineered that way: to isolate us, to make us believe our differences are insurmountable. But I keep returning to one question, not as a slogan but as a lifeline: Will we stand together?
This year, IRTF celebrates 45 years of answering that question with a resounding "yes." So here is the encouraging part I promised: for 45 years, IRTF has been a living testament to the power of interfaith solidarity. When people of different faiths, backgrounds, and traditions stand together, we do the work that outlasts any administration: addressing root causes, accompanying communities in struggle, and building something unshakeable.
Read more testimony from Wendy and other board members who share what draws them into the work of IRTF and what sustains them.
If you would like to help sustain the human rights solidarity work of IRTF—now in our 45th year—please see this donation link or mail your donation to IRTF, 3606 Bridge Ave., Cleveland OH 44113.
