ALDEA - The People's Justice Center

06/16/2026

Are you interested in U.S. citizenship? Drop by our first citizenship clinic of 2026 to determine your eligibility and submit your application!

The clinic is free of charge, offers same day naturalization applications, and includes multi-lingual staff available on site!

Click the link to learn more about the process and for a list of what documents to bring with you.

--

¿Está interesado(a) en hacerse ciudadano(a) estadounidense?

¡Visite nuestro primer taller de ciudadanía del 2026 para determinar si reúne los requisitos y presentar su solicitud de naturalización!

El taller es completamente gratuito, ofrece la posibilidad de preparar y presentar solicitudes de naturalización el mismo día, y contará con personal multilingüe disponible en el lugar.

Haga clic en el enlace para obtener más información sobre el proceso y una lista de los documentos que debe traer.

https://bit.ly/NewAmericans2026

06/09/2026

“Is the answer to someone overstaying their visa or crossing a line ... cruelty at all costs?”

Catch up with Aldea's Executive Director, Bridget Cambria, on
WHYY's Studio 2!

06/09/2026

We are excited to announce some big news!

Thanks to a generous grant from The Wyomissing Foundation, Aldea is proud to offer our citizenship program – Aldea’s New Americans Project – at no cost to eligible participants for the next year!

By making ANAP free for one year, we are aiming to expand access to naturalization services for individuals who may otherwise be unable to afford them. The program also aims to educate the public about eligibility requirements, as many qualify without realizing it.

Citizenship is more than a legal status. For many, it is a dream and we are honored to walk alongside our clients as they pursue this milestone.

Do you need assistance with your citizenship? Do you know someone who may qualify?

Send us a DM or call our offices!

06/02/2026

UPDATE: Erasmo is home!

When ICE detained him and tried to deport him, this community showed up. You shared his story. You came to his family’s vigil on Mother’s Day. You contacted elected officials and spoke truth to overwhelming power.

Last Friday, a federal judge ordered his release.

One case at a time, we are building a more just and equitable future for immigrant communities everywhere. Today, we celebrate something simple: Erasmo has returned to the family that loves him and needs him.

Thank you all for making that possible!

05/14/2026

Our fearless Director Bridget Cambria wrapped up oral arguments for Erasmo’s case in the Western District Court of PA just yesterday. The Judge listened intently to our arguments and turned to the government with a simple question - “what about fundamental fairness?”

This question reminds us why cases like Erasmo’s are important.

At its heart, Erasmo’s fight is an opportunity to establish critical legal precedent: that U visa applicants are owed a careful, lawful process under the very statute Congress designed to protect them. This case goes far beyond Erasmo and his family. The outcome of this case will impact all U visa petitioners who have cooperated with law enforcement and done everything right. Our fight is to enforce the law and ensure that ICE cannot arbitrarily detain and remove applicants like Erasmo without legal justification.

There must be accountability. Aldea is in this fight. We will not stop.

05/05/2026

Dear friends, partners, and supporters,

We have an important update in the fight to

From the moment we learned that Erasmo had been detained, our legal team moved quickly to activate the protections the law provides. But once his case reached federal court, it became clear: something was wrong.

A federal judge stepped in.

The Court ordered the government to stop Erasmo’s deportation, recognizing serious concerns about how his case has been handled and the risk that he could be removed without the legal protections he is owed.

Erasmo was taken to the airport for deportation ....and then brought back.

And we kept fighting in court.

We asked the Court to require the government to explain under what legal authority they are detaining this man:
a grandfather,
a caregiver,
a grieving father,
and a cooperating survivor with a pending U visa.

Yesterday, the Court agreed that this case raises complex and serious legal issues that deserve careful consideration, and not rushed decisions that tear families apart.

The Court agreed: this case must be heard. A hearing is now scheduled for May 13. We will be ready.

This is an important step forward, but Erasmo is still detained, and his family is still waiting for him to come home.

Now we continue the fight for what should be obvious:

Bring Erasmo home.

Here’s how you can take action today:

* Share our updates on social media and tag DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, joining our call for Erasmo’s release (X and Facebook: . Instagram )
* Send an email to Philadelphia Field Office Director John E. Rife urging DHS to release Erasmo and defer his deportation ([email protected])
* Continue sharing Erasmo’s story and the campaign widely

When victims and families come forward, they should not be punished for it. Erasmo did everything right. Now we need to make sure the government does too.

Thank you

05/04/2026

Today, we are launching a campaign to BRING ERASMO HOME.

Erasmo Zavala Almanza is a father, a grandfather, and a devoted caregiver. He is the primary support for his medically fragile one-year-old granddaughter, who survived a shooting that tragically took the life her mother, Erasmo’s daughter.

Despite the grief and pain of losing his own child to domestic violence, Erasmo did what the law asks of victims and their families.

- He cooperated with law enforcement after the murder of his daughter and the attempted murder of his infant granddaughter.
- He helped bring accountability after an act of domestic violence.
- He then applied for a visa based on his cooperation with law enforcement.

Despite this, ICE surveilled him and targeted him for detention. Now, he is imprisoned and facing deportation.

This is not what justice looks like.

📢 We are calling for his immediate release so he can return to his family and continue caring for his granddaughter during the most critical time in her recovery.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/ErasmoMedia

[SPANISH BELOW] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 4, 2026 “Bring Erasmo Home” Campaign Launches, Urging Release of Berks County Grandfather and Crime Witness from ICE Detention Reading, PA — Aldea – The People’s Justice Center today launched the “Bring Erasmo Home” campaign, calling for the im...

04/17/2026

Friends, we're excited to announce our newest initiative at Aldea -- The Community Blog!

This is a space where Aldea staff, community members, and allies can share longer reflections, stories, and ideas.

We’re kicking things off with a piece from our own Sean Cooper, Aldea's Federal Litigation Specialist. Sean reflects on what it really means to be part of a community—and how we show up for one another when it matters most.

Click the link below to read the entire post!

This question has been on my mind a lot over the past year. As I reflect on the road our country has traveled since January 2025, I find myself holding many emotions at once: anger at rapid, arbitrary shifts in immigration policy, sadness at the suffering I have witnessed, concern that our legal sys...

02/04/2026

At Aldea, our work is not guided by political strategy, but by the lived realities of the families who walk through our doors every day, and those who can no longer walk through our doors because they are detained or deported.

In recent months, that reality has been defined by fear, uncertainty, and profound anxiety. Mixed-status families—composed of U.S. citizens, lawful residents, and people without status—are watching immigration enforcement expand beyond its legal authority, target community allies, and inflict real and irreversible harm. These fears are not abstract. They are grounded in what families are seeing, experiencing, and grieving. These are their lives.

Preparation is not provocation.
Exercising our constitutional rights to name and oppose the harm we are experiencing should not induce escalation.

When prosecutors, advocates, and community leaders speak firmly against abuse of power, they are not inviting violence. They are attempting to prevent it. Warnings about the misuse of force, overreach of authority, and erosion of due process are not acts of hostility; they are acts of responsibility.

Our clients are not only undocumented immigrants. They are U.S. citizen spouses, children, parents, and neighbors who expect their elected officials to use every lawful tool available to protect human life, civil rights, and community safety. For many families, preparation is the only protection they have left as trust in institutions grows increasingly fragile.

We agree that communities across Pennsylvania, our clients in Reading, Allentown, Lancaster, and beyond, deserve resources and care. That is precisely why preparation, education, and transparency matter. Silence does not keep families safe. Minimizing fear does not make it disappear. What keeps people safe is honest communication, readiness, and solidarity.

Aldea remains committed to meeting families where they are, responding with compassion, and helping them prepare for uncertainty with dignity rather than panic. We welcome unity, collaboration, and thoughtful dialogue, and we support all lawful efforts to protect our communities. We will not accept the public invalidation of the very real fears of the families we serve.

Our community deserves honesty, courage, and care. That is what we will continue to offer.

12/29/2025

Before we say goodbye to 2025, we want to share all that Aldea accomplished this year! Scroll through our 2025 Annual Report to see an overview of each of our programs, statistics on our accomplishments, and a detailed explanation of the state of immigrant detention in America.

While we’re looking forward to 2026, we know that many of our everyday realities will remain the same. Our communities will continue to be terrorized, intimidated, and increasingly stripped of due process.

Despite this, we would like to invite you to pause and reflect on the important and life changing work Aldea accomplished this year.