And even though the midterm elections are coming up, Coller feels it may not change the direction the federal government is taking right now.

“I don’t know where the elections are going to go,” Coller said. “I think hopefully if they go the right way, then we can talk to the governor’s office and figure out what the plan is to take care of our community. If it goes the wrong way … I don’t know why I feel this way, but it’s like in 2024, I was saying, ‘No, he’s not going to play by the rules.’ And all of a sudden, people woke up. I find myself in that situation again because I’m like, ‘No, if this other person wins, we have a huge problem. How are we going to survive that?’”

The immigration rules have been thrown out the window and so it’s not even about what is legal and what is not legal. Actions are being taken against people regardless of their status.

“The asylum seekers are here legally,” Coller emphasized. “They follow the rules. Many of them are from violence-plagued countries. Some come from countries that have repressive government in which they don’t feel secure. People are getting detained at the Chicago airport. We have a family where a dad lives in Sun Prairie, but actually works in Illinois. He was picked up in Illinois and then sent to a facility in Indiana. So now we find ourselves coordinating things across states, figuring out what money do they have and what money do we have. Meanwhile, there might be a family that’s left behind. Maybe the person who was taken is the primary bread winner. People need to process decisions, life choices. It’s really disheartening.”

There are many legal issues that need to be addressed.

“We need to support that whole process from a mental health capacity,” Coller said. “Maybe they will decide that they actually want to go back home. Well, we will help them with that too. We’re going to take care of their travel so that they can go. Or they need to establish a guardianship for their little ones because you decided to leave their little ones here. What does that look like? Let’s process that. So it takes a lot and lot of work. And I think the challenging thing now too is things have gotten really complicated. And so a lot of the cases for asylum seekers are being denied, denied, denied. Or let’s say you are here today. And it turns out that you get a letter in the mail tomorrow that you court date was a week ago. You didn’t show up. Here’s a deportation order. All of a sudden, you are caught in the situation that you need to file a completely different pattern of defense with an attorney to figure out what to do. ‘Nope, I don’t like John. He shouldn’t have been here anyway. Removal.’”

The entire immigration legal system has been disrupted where one does not know what to expect.

“Some had been notified,” Coller said. “Others, what we are seeing is that people get a letter saying that they missed their court hearing, but your court hearing was last week or last month. ‘Oh, you didn’t know about it? Oh it was, but I guess you didn’t hear in time. Or no one told you. Sorry about that.’ A lot of that is going around. A lot of cases are being denied or people going to their check-ins in Milwaukee and then getting detained there. There are all sorts of different scenarios. And then people keep trying to appeal through their different attorneys. Most people are just trying to do the right thing. Live in this country and they have to jump through hoops or figure out what law applies to what today. And I need to hire an attorney to help me understand that. It’s not a very easy process. Everybody says it’s broken. It’s actually pretty dumb, to be honest, because it’s like, ‘Only people with shirts can come. But that is only through Wednesday and then on Monday, it is something else.’ There is no sense at all. And that is money too.”

Since the end of 2024, Centro and its partners have raised $4.75 million for the fund. It is composed of one big grant and then hundreds of smaller contributions. Through the Immigrant Defense Fund, over 700 families have been served. And the support goes beyond paying for lawyers fees. It tries to meet the needs of the entire family as it goes through this labyrinthine process.

“We have a request to support Maria — not her real name — with a $200 Walmart card,” Coller said. “This will be the first request of several for Maria, as we organizes documents and we obtain a signed W-9. Maria's partner, the father of her daughter, was detained by ICE on April 30. He had been the primary earner for their family, as Maria is a full-time caregiver to their 15-month-old daughter with complex medical needs (she has a heart condition, limited mobility, and is on 24/7 respirator support). The family lives in Milwaukee. I am also connecting Maria with Vicky for peer support. I also just approved $3,000 in rent support.”

Without the Immigrant Defense Fund, people’s lives would be devastated.

“If the defense fund weren’t there, we wouldn’t have been able to fight anymore,” Coller said. “We would have to say that the system keeps trying to break you and they are succeeding. And people will have to leave or be detained. I think last weekend, there was a New York Times article about the ice surge that happened during the summer throughout the country and Madison was there. We try to be very specific about what we share on social media. There are alerts and things when we hear stuff in the community. But how they are doing things, it’s not the traditional way. It’s almost like those alerts even work because ICE is working with different legal agencies. So they are the ones who are doing the actions. You could say, ‘ICE is here at the corner of such and such street in Fitchburg.’ We can’t even verify that anymore because they are working with other partners who are doing the action. Part of it is we try to delay things as much as possible so people have a fighting chance. You have to let them go if people are being detained illegally.”

The need can be overwhelming.

“Centro coordinates a network of formal, for-profit firms across the state,” Coller said. “There aren’t many immigration attorneys. But the ones that are there are coordinated. And we send referrals their way based on screening protocol that we have. We work with Dane County Office of Immigration Affairs. We carry the administrative cost and provide money for the cost of attorneys and to landlords for rental assistance. CILC works with individuals who are detained, so they don’t do asylum seekers who have to go to a court hearing or an appeal that has been denied. For them, if a person is in Dodge County, how can they support them. I think CILC would like to do more litigation work at this point. But we have a ton of other cases, people who need new visas and different things. They need to get the support too. The demand is unlimited. It’s like a huge ER. But the ER is full and you need to figure out how to get more people in.”

Due to the demand and no sign that there will be a change in federal policy anytime soon, Coller continues to raise money for the fund.

“Everyday people can give to the fund,” Coller said. “I love house parties. If people would ever want to tell me about a house party that they are going to, let me know. It’s also an opportunity to be in community together and talk about the issues and also feel a little more whole about things. They are pretty traumatic for me because I always have to share all this stuff. At the same time, I think it is also good to get it out and for people to understand the realities. Everyone who can, throw a house party. Raise dollars for Centro. And then tell 2-3 people to do the same. I’m willing to come and talk to people about it to make sure that we are creating a sense of community. It’s sad to think of it that way because it’s almost like we are pushing and holding back as much as we can so they don’t get to us. But they have gotten to a lot of people. I think we are doing what we can. I wish we had $100 million. Maybe then we would have enough to take care of all of the families in Wisconsin and then some. I don’t understand why that can’t be easily attained because there is so much pain and so many families that are being affected. But we do what we can.”

The Immigration Defense Fund accept donations no matter how big or small. And the donation is tax deductible.

“Anyone can go online and make a donation at www.micentro.org,” Coller said. “You can reach out to Karime or me directly about making a charitable contribution or you can send a check. For the house parties, they can reach out to Karime and we will get that set up. We provide all the materials, the specific QR codes so that people can track how much they are raising. We have had three happen in the last month. If you are competing against each other, you can see who is winning. It’s kind of nice. We’re helpful. We can provide everything that is necessary.  In this situation, it’s so hard to predict what $50 will get you. All I can say is that you bet that your gift can make a difference in the lives of a family and the spirit of our community. We do not have enough to cover the level of demand that we have.”

While America has, for several centuries, been known as a beacon for immigrants, Coller feels that America still has a ways to go to understanding the underlying issues that people face.

“I think we have a long ways to go,” Coller said. “We have a problem with poverty and we have a problem with people of color. We need to wrestle with that and understand it. And see that the future is going to be a lot better if we are all part of the umbrella and the coalition. Then if not, we are going to be here anyway. But there is a lot of discomfort around that. I do a ton of educating here at Centro as it is. People are still learning.”

In Coller’s view, the present administration is fighting against the tide of history

“I think we have a long ways to go,” Coller said. “We have a problem with poverty and we have a problem with people of color. We need to wrestle with that and understand it. And see that the future is going to be a lot better if we are all part of the umbrella and the coalition. Then if not, we are going to be here anyway. But there is a lot of discomfort around that. I do a ton of educating here at Centro as it is. People are still learning.”

While the Immigration Defense Fund is an important instrument in fighting the unjust way that immigration policies are being enforced, it is a temporary solution.

“I think that everyone who can vote, should vote in November,” Coller said. “Just like back in 2024, this has to go our way. Otherwise we are in deep trouble.”

No truer words were ever said.