helping each other

Among pro-immigrant organizers, faith leaders and volunteers, active Signal and WhatsApp chats have become part of the new normal as they respond to evolving ICE tactics. Springfield Neighbors United, a local nonprofit that, though not faith-based, is run by volunteers with many religious beliefs, has coordinated food and diaper drives, hygiene bags and rides for Haitians going to immigration court. They’ve teamed up with St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic nonprofit, to fill out passports for newborns and children who are U.S. citizens. The groups are also helping Haitians assign power of attorney to U.S. citizens in case they are separated from their children. Now, they’re starting a program to support families left behind after a loved one is detained.

“I think spiritually and morally, I mean, we have to respond,” said Norm Horstman, who, along with his wife, Lou Ann, is a retired cradle Catholic “in exile” from the church over its stance on LGBTQ+ issues. The couple has been heavily involved with Springfield Neighbors United since 2024. “We don’t have a choice.”  

The "Love Thy Neighbor" food drive is intended to draw a contrast with the GOP gathering and highlight rising grocery prices, a key focus of Talarico's campaign against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.

"Next week, billionaire donors and their puppet politicians will gather at a convention in Dallas to toast their own corruption," Talarcio said on social media. "In the shadow of this Billionaire Ball, we'll be collecting food to help Texans struggling with rising grocery prices."

Gov. JB Pritzker said during a news conference on Tuesday, March 3, that the Illinois Medical Debt Relief Program has erased $1.1 billion in medical debt, with patients receiving an average of about $1,200 in relief. Cook County’s Medical Debt Relief Initiative has eliminated an additional $820 million in medical debt since it launched its program in 2022.

“Countless people across the state are living proof that this program is more than clearing numbers on a ledger,” Pritzker said. “It is about giving people the freedom and the opportunity to build and live their lives. Lifting the burden of medical debt restores hope. It provides a sense of security.”

Yet moved by the sense that the medical debts their neighbors faced were deeply unfair, members of Trinity Moravian, no matter their politics, rushed to write $25 or $50 checks to pay off the bills. They helped advance a movement by churches across the state and the country, and they inspired North Carolina government officials to tackle medical debt. The effort drew plaudits from conservative radio host Glenn Beck.