Abide in Love Ste. Genevieve

1. How did this organization begin?  Abide in Love Ste. Genevieve was created in July, 2025, and is the first affiliate of the original Abide in Love group, which formed in Rolla, MO to aid immigrants in their community and detention center.  We are a non-partisan group of volunteers from a variety of spiritual backgrounds, all dedicated to peaceful advocacy and social change based on the Six Principles of Nonviolence championed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  

2. How many detainees are being held in Ste. Genevieve?  It varies at any given time.  When we started, it was around 50, but lately that number has been closer to 100.  

3. Where are the locally-held detainees picked up by ICE?  Most of them are picked up in larger Missouri cities like St. Louis and Kansas City and their metropolitan areas, but a small number are just passing through the state, or are from other areas.

4. Are you helping to free criminals?  NO!  If someone is picked up by ICE and has any current criminal charges against them, they are transferred to federal custody and assigned a public defender.  The detainees we are helping are often not offered their “one free phone call,” so families or any legal representative they might have don’t even know where they are.  Most of the population we have been working with came to our country through correct channels - they have student or work visas, passports, greencards, resident cards, etc., yet are being detained and threatened with deportation with no due process.    

5. What is your biggest expense?  Communicating with detainees and helping them communicate with loved ones and legal resources is by far our biggest expense.  It can cost $35-50 for each detainee, to start.

6. May I visit the detainees and give them anything?  The detainees are not allowed any in-person contact visits, but there are visiting hours where friends and family can talk to them on a phone and see them through “glass.”  Only one person is allowed to visit at a time, no cell phones or interpreters are allowed.  Only clergy members are allowed interpreters.  

Visiting hours for friends and family are Sundays noon-4pm, first come first served.  Visiting hours for clergy are Mondays noon-4pm.

We are not allowed to give any items personally to detainees.  Anything we send must be either ordered from the jail’s commissary, or shipped directly from companies that are approved by the Sheriff’s office.  There are lots of restrictions on what we can and cannot order. 

7. What are ways volunteers can help?

We have several different committees of which volunteers can partake:

-Non-detained Support:  hold workshops for immigrants on “Know Your Rights,” Power of Attorney paperwork, and help to get passports for children born in the United States.  Also help immigrants in our community with occasional transportation, help finding housing, and other basic needs.

-Social Media:  create and schedule social media posts, answer messages that come via social media accounts (currently FB & IG)

-Outreach:  connect to other organizations and institutions in and around our community, hold presentations at meetings and events, offer info at a table or booth for events

-Pen Pals:  communicate directly with detainees in our local detention center (set them up with phone cards if necessary, connect them to legal assistance if needed, coordinate with family members if necessary, set up clergy visits if requested, offer hope, check on what other needs they may have), MUST BE TECH SAVVY to be a pen pal

-Fundraising:  send letters and talk to people and organizations sympathetic to our mission, get creative with fundraising ideas

-Interpretation and Accompaniment:  BILINGUAL PREFERRED (most needed languages are Spanish, Mandarin, Indonesian, Portuguese), translate and interpret for both detainees and the organization, provide transportation for family members to visit detained loved ones, accompany immigrants to ICE check-in meetings

8. How can I volunteer?  Please send an email to info@abideinlovesg.org, and we will let you know about upcoming meetings and volunteer opportunities.

9. Does the organization take part in protests?  We feel the work we are doing is a form of protest in itself.  While we do not participate in protests as a group, we do encourage our members to do so on their own behalf.  We also strongly encourage reaching out directly to lawmakers to make one’s opinions known and to state how bills affecting our immigrant neighbors affect our whole community.   

Here is contact info for lawmakers:

Governor Mike Kehoe (573) 751-3222

State Representative Bryant Wolfin (573) 751-5912

State Senator Mike Henderson (573) 751-4008

Senator Josh Hawley  (573) 334-5995, (202) 224-6154

Senator Eric Schmitt  (573) 388-8340, (202) 224-5721

Congressman Jason Smith  (573) 756-9755, (202) 225-4404

10. How can I donate?  You can donate online at https://givebutter.com/AbideSteGen or mail a check made out to “Abide in Love Ste. Genevieve” to Bloomsdale Bank, 695 Center Drive, Ste. Genevieve, MO 63670

11. Where do I get AIL merch?  Please visit our online store at https://abideinlove.itemorder.com/shop/home/