Faithful Dissent: Casey Revkin Is Funding the Basic Needs of Children and Families in ICE Detention
Casey Revkin is a mom in California who heard that children were being taken from their parents at the border and decided she had to do something. In this final episode of the Faithful Dissent series, she tells George Mason how that decision grew into Each Step Home.
Families held at the Dilley detention center in Texas depend on the commissary, a store inside the facility where they spend credit that people outside can deposit. Casey’s organization adds money to those accounts every week so that families can buy clean water, hygiene supplies and minutes for phone calls. She describes what she saw in the Dilley visitor center, why she believes ending the detention of children should matter to people across the political spectrum, and what a Passover meal at 2:00 AM taught her about welcoming a stranger.
Casey is the founder and executive director of Each Step Home, a nonprofit dedicated to helping children harmed by U.S. immigration policy. She began this work in 2018 and has helped reunite thousands of families.
Watch the video, here.
GEORGE (00:14):
Welcome to Good God, conversations that matter about faith and public life. I'm your host, George Mason, and I'm delighted to welcome to our program today, Casey Revkin. Casey is the founder, co-founder, and executive director of the organization called Each Step Home. And we're gonna talk a lot more about what that means, but Casey, welcome. We're glad to have you.
CASEY (00:38):
Oh, I'm glad to be here. Thank you for having me.
GEORGE (00:41):
So this is our final episode in what has been, uh, a lovely series, I think, of challenging conversations with people that we've called, Casey, faithful dissent. Uh, so we have been living in a time when it feels like, uh, the, the, the forces of, uh, uh, of, I, I guess I'm just gonna say the forces of evil that have been dividing us, that have been, uh, cruelly treating people inhumanely have prevailed. And, uh, the best we felt like we could do is to dissent in various ways. And, uh, and, and you have found a way to do that. I wan`t people to understand, uh, about your story and, and what you do and how, uh, you got involved, uh, creating Each Step Home.
CASEY (01:31):
Sure. Yeah. So, um, I started getting involved with immigrant children in 2018 when I heard our government was separating children at the border. And I was just appalled. Um, my son was three years old at the time, and I though what would happen if we were separated? I mean, he didn't know my phone number. He didn't even know my name was Casey. He just knew me as mom. And I just knew I had to do something. And that's basically been my philosophy this whole time. Like, I know I have to do something. And for many years, we worked to reunite those families that were separated, and we worked with unaccompanied minors that ended up in unaccompanied minor detention and helped their families sort of as coaches to get them released. Um, the, I mean, these were parents who had their kids in detention and they didn't know where to start, and we did.
CASEY (02:27):
And so we would help, like, fill out the application and help them, um, move the process along. And we were enormously successful at that. We did that thousands of times, and I'm so proud of that work. And then, um, the n - this new second Trump administration came about and, uh, they reopened the family detention centers. And we knew immediately how horrible those cir - those conditions are, and that many people did not know about that. And once again, just like it was before, I knew that I just had to do something. I'm not a lawyer. I'm a mom in California. I was like, "What can I do?" And, um, we knew that there was a commissary in the, um, detention center that is like a store where you can get credit, people can deposit, um, into your commissary account and it works like credit at the store.
CASEY (03:21):
And there you can buy things like toothbrushes and shampoo and, um, snacks and, um, and even clean water. And, um, and, and phone calls, phone call. Like if you wanna make a phone call, you need to buy minutes for, for phone calls. And, um, I thought, "You know what? Maybe I can fundraise for this." And, um, we started making deposits. And, um, and I'm so grateful to -
GEORGE (03:49):
Started making deposits, Casey, is a really big understatement. Tell people how much you have been giving, uh, e- each week.
CASEY (04:00):
So we've been putting in about $10,000 every week. Um. Yeah. Um, there, we try to do $100 a family and there, um, we can only make deposits for families. We know about, and when there are 100 families in there, that's $10,000. Um, the number of families fluctuates over time. Um, and so, um, but we just try to keep up and, um, and make sure everyone has that.
GEORGE (04:27):
Now, Casey, you have yourself been, uh, able to visit, right, in, in, in these detention centers. Uh, Dilley in particular. I wanna mention Dilley because Dilley is in Texas. It is a facility that we have some awareness of here, uh, because, uh, the organization that sponsors this podcast, Faith Commons, uh, we have started a- another clergy-led organization in Dallas called CLEAR, the Clergy League for Emergency Action and Response. We were able actually to, to get planned for a detention center warehouse, uh, in the Dallas area, Hill. We just, we, we organized to be able to do that. We were able to, uh, organize to stop, uh, ICE air flights out of Dallas Love Field. Uh, so we've been working, uh, really hard at this. I will say that Dilley is located about 70 miles, uh, south of, uh, San Antonio. It's remote. Yes. And it's not a place, you know, we've talked about doing vigils there, about, you know, doing a, a walk and all of that.
GEORGE (05:39):
But once you get there, there's nothing there. Uh - Yeah. Really, it's, it's just that place. And, and my own daughter who works in this, uh, in, in this field as well, tried to visit. Uh, and I think they did a big scrub, uh, uh, DHS did a big scrub of her social media and found that they didn't want her in there. Uh, she's a minister and they, they declined letting her come. So, uh, I, I just wanna say, you know, that you have been able to visit, uh, and, and bear witness to what's happened is no small, uh, achievement because a lot of us have, you know, wanted to do so and we've found ourselves on the outside and that... And of course, this is our government and it's our, you know, our nation doing these things and our own government is not letting our own citizens, especially clergy who want to be in there giving, uh, some, uh, pastoral care and, and, and comfort, uh, we, we can't do it.
GEORGE (06:40):
So, uh, I, I, I'm delighted to know that you have been able to, but I know that there, it's horrific when you get in there. Tell people what it's really like.
CASEY (06:51):
Well, I've only made it to the visitor center and I'm not sure they would let me in again, um, now that they know more about me. But, um, um, in the visitor center, we had, we go into one trailer where we have to fill out all the paperwork and had to wait there a very long time. And, um, I had a piece of paper where I wrote down the A number and the name of the person I was visiting and, um, the license plate of the car that we drove in on, and they wouldn't let me take that piece of paper in. All I could take was my car keys and a debit card for the vending machine. And I said, "Okay, well then can you hold it?" And they said, "No." And then I said, "Can I throw it out?" And they said, "Absolutely not." I had to walk this, like, little piece of paper to the car, um, and leave it there.
CASEY (07:45):
That's how locked down it is. And then, um, it, we, I went in the summer, and it was very hot, and just the, we had to walk from one trailer where the screening room was, the entrance to another trailer where the visitor center was, and even that little walk was very oppressive. And I just think about these kids in these trailers, locked up in these trailers, and they have to go outside for everything, and, um, how hard that was. Um, I'm not a lawyer, so I didn't have any privileged conversations. It was a big room, and there were definitely people, um, close by listening and sort of monitoring our conversation. Um, and I stopped by another table with a different family and they said, "No, no, no, you can't talk to them." And, um, um, but I was there, and I just wanted to humanize this family that I met with.
CASEY (08:40):
I didn't, we didn't talk too much about what was wrong with Dilley. I feel like we get that from the legal declarations and from, um, which are amazing, the lawyers that are able to go in there and get these legal de- declarations. But I wanted to humanize them, so I asked them, you know, what are your favorite movies and music and sports and, um, um, and learn, and, uh, what, what do you, what, like, if you get out of here, what food do you want, are you most looking forward to eating? And, um, and things like that. And we, we were there for over two hours, or I was there for over two hours meeting with them. Um, and I'm really glad I got to do that.
GEORGE (09:22):
Oh. Well, the reports of what they go through is, uh, are just horrendous, right? I mean, uh, worms in the food, um, unclean water, uh, the, you know, the, the, the living conditions, the sanitation, uh, just, um, not fit for human beings is, is the bottom line. And yet, we're putting children and family into these situations. This is a country that prides itself on its supposed religious value, right? And, and this is what we're doing to what, what are, at least the children, incredibly innocent people.
CASEY (10:09):
Yeah. Um, the, the thing, I think people don't know these conditions that we're locking children up in, that the water makes them sick. Yeah. The water gives them stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting. Um, they're, everyone has rashes either because the sh - the water is so bad in the showers that it gives them rashes or it's the soap they give them. I don't know. Um, one of the things the family I met with told me is that the rooms are, are generally clean, but they smell. Um, the visitor center did not have a smell, but there's, and they said, like, "I was missing out on so much of the experience because I couldn't smell it." Um, children regress and start wetting the bed or wetting themselves, um, because of the water, there's diarrhea and the bathrooms are just always full. It's hard to find a clean bathroom.
CASEY (11:02):
I mean, that just breaks my heart. Yeah. And water is a human right. It's, it's so basic. Um, and I understand that this water issue is no longer an issue because we've been sending this, um - Good. $10,000 every week. And it's just, we've made a huge difference in the life of so many children, and I'm so grateful to all our donors who have made that possible, so.
GEORGE (11:28):
So you founded this organization, and it's not like you, uh, had spent your life, uh, being a nonprofit, uh, organizational leader. Uh, you, but you are a financial expert, and so it, it, at least that's what your bio says. So tell us more about that, because I think what I'm really trying to get to here, Casey, is there are a lot of people out there who, uh, who are not, you know, activists. They're not, uh, they're, they're not people who are used to, uh, being in this space, but they have been touched in some way. Um, their, their, their compassion has been roused, their empathy is, is, uh, uh, is palpable, and they wanna know, "Well, what can I do?" And, and most of the time when people ask that question, I want to say, "Well, well, who are you? You know, what are your gifts and where, what do you bring to y- your everyday life?" How does your work in being, uh, in the financial industry in some way, uh, how did, how did that help you to know how to get involved?
CASEY (12:36):
Well, I mean, I think a lot of it is project management, um, and tackling tasks. So as it, when we were reuniting families, it was how, what are the steps that we need to do to, to get this kid released to their, their parents? And, um, same thing with, with the commissary, it's what is something I can do? And the logistics of making these deposits every week is actually kind of complicated. Um, they don't make it easy. I, I would think they would welcome me. Um, I would think they would say, "Hey, can you visit every week and send more money?" But they're getting $15 million, um, a month from, uh, um, 15 million a month from ICE. So this $40,000 that I'm sending is just a little blip. Um, and, um, and then we do, like, one of the things that we can do is cover their immediate needs when they get released, which oftentimes is a plane ticket and that, those are logistics.
CASEY (13:41):
And I just found where can I help and push for it.
GEORGE (13:47):
Good. So each step home, all three words, tell us what they mean.
CASEY (13:54):
Yeah. Um, so, um, that's... We, we did it when we were, um, when we were focused on, on, more on reuniting families, um, when they were being separated at the border and we were getting children released to their parents, and that's what we wanna do. We said we were... What were we doing? We were helping with the logistics. Like, we were helping with each step to their home.
GEORGE (14:17):
Great. Well, I mean, the, the fact that we have to help them, uh, at each step to be at home is absolutely, uh, appalling, uh, really. But we, this is the situation we find ourselves in. We, you and I are talking on the day after the midterm election, and I wonder how you're feeling right now.
CASEY (14:41):
Well, I'm feeling pretty hopeful. This whole time, I've been saying what I'm doing is a bandaid. It's something I can do. I can make their lives in detention significantly better or somewhat better. And, um, um, but the ultimate goal is to sh- shut this place down and not only shut down Dilley , but actually end the policy of detaining children and families. And I am hopeful that maybe with these new people in power, they might actually legislate to do that.
GEORGE (15:13):
And do you have a strategy of advocacy, uh, in, in pressing for that with, uh, partners or with your organization? Well,
CASEY (15:22):
Yeah, we're talking to other organizations. Um, what... I mean, part of it is in Texas. Um, what can the new governor do? I know that there's special licenses, um, uh, for family detention that, like, they have, that they're able to do this in Texas, and maybe they wouldn't be able to... Maybe she could revoke those licenses. I don't know. Um, uh, I mean, I'm not a lawyer once again, but, um, definitely wanna raise awareness, and I want everyone to call their reps and say - Right. This is, um, we should end ICE detention for children. I, I've been saying this forever, that it doesn't matter where you are on the political spectrum. It, like, these are... It doesn't even matter how you feel about immigration. You should not want children to be detained. They get in trouble for laughing in detention. Everyone should believe that children deserve to laugh and play and drink cl- clean water.
GEORGE (16:15):
Yeah. It's extraordinary, isn't it? And, and I think people don't fully appreciate the fact that these detention facilities are, uh, typically privately owned and privately run. Uh, and so there, there, there are people who are getting rich off of misery of children, uh, who are being separated from their parents, being held, uh, for, uh, for every day that they're there, they get paid. Uh, and if they have empty beds, they don't get paid. And so this is, you know, this is the nature of, of systemic evil, uh, that we are witnessing. And, uh, and, and one way that we have to deal with it is not just, uh, by praying about it or wishing it away or, or even just providing mutual aid. We've got to change the system. Uh, we've got to elect the right people. We've got to put pressure on, and we have to hold people accountable for, uh, profiting off of other people's misery.
CASEY (17:21):
Absolutely. Um, who, who would wanna profit off, off of this? I will say that Dilley , um, the children in Dilley are there with... They're not separated from their parents. They're in there with their parents. Dilley currently is the only ICE detention center that holds children and families. Um, they're building one, or they built one in Louisiana that they haven't opened yet, which, um, which would be the
GEORGE (17:44):
Second - I hope they don't open it at all. Yeah.
CASEY (17:46):
I, I really hope that.
GEORGE (17:48):
And how many, how many children, uh, and how many people altogether are at Dilley ?
CASEY (17:55):
So the last time, um, Congressmember Joaquin Castro visited, they gave him n... They gave numbers to the congressional delegation, and there were a little over 500 people there. Um, so, um, and a lot of them are single women there without their children, and then the rest are, um, parents there with their children. Right. And we don't really know, um, because it's not like there's, they give us a list. Right. Um - Yeah. But, um, but every, every day, we get names of new families to, um, to make deposits for, and we see, um, yeah, and we see some people leave as well. So we don't know if they're getting deported or, or, um, or released, but...
GEORGE (18:44):
So, uh, you were, you were touched because you're a mom, because you, uh, witnessed this and thought about, you know, that could be me, could be my child, those sorts of things. Uh, it, this, this phrase that we're using for this series is Faithful Dissent, and, and faithful can mean consistent. It can also be motivated by faith. Curious whether you come from a faith tradition or whether this is, uh, simply a human, uh, reaction that, uh, is motivating you.
CASEY (19:16):
Well, I, um, I'm Jewish on my mother's side and believe in... What do I think? Um, I have a good story about this, actually. So if we have time. So years ago, before COVID, in the first Trump administration, um, we... I had this whole network of people who would bring people in, would host people in their home when they got released from detention, when somebody would post their bond, and they would hold them for a night or two while we arranged for travel to their families. And, you know, this is a time when the government was screaming, "These are all dirty people and rapists and these..." And, and yet, I had a giant community of people who would bring the, um, bring detainees into their home. And, um, there w... And the logistics were crazy because they would never release them at the right time, and there was usually somebody who would drive 90 miles into the desert to pick them up, and then somebody else who would host them for the night, and, um, somebody else who would arrange for their, um, their travel, which was usually me.
CASEY (20:23):
And, um, and there was this one night where, um, everything went wrong. Like, they released him somewhere before somebody got there to pick them up, and we didn't know where he was, and then he ended up getting in a taxi, and then the... But then he didn't have any money for the taxi, but that he was able to call someone and, and, and anyway, he ended up coming to my house at, like, 2:00 AM. I said, "You know what? Whoever was gonna host him and everything, it's not gonna work out, but he can come to my house." And, um, and, um, and then I didn't... I wasn't ready for someone. I wasn't expecting to prepare to, um, host somebody in my house. And so the only food I had was matzo ball soup. It was Passover. And I s - this person who had, you know, probably traveled to his own desert seeking a new country had...
CASEY (21:16):
And then been in detention for close to a year. He watched his daughter be taken from him, um, while she was sleeping, and he sat at my table, and he had this food of my people, and it, yeah, makes me sad even, or emotional, thinking about it to this day. But it was such a great moment of just connection.
GEORGE (21:40):
Well, you're, you're, you're really honing in on the fact that our religious traditions give us, uh, the stories that allow us to see ourselves living them over and over again. And, you know, uh, of course, the Passover story invites you, uh, to do just that, right, to, to say, you know, when, when we were in Egypt, right?
CASEY (22:05):
Exactly.
GEORGE (22:06):
Uh, and so it's, it's over and over again recognizing that these stories are not about other people, they're about us. Then how will we live in response to them, right? Yeah. Uh, so that's, I think, a, a really beautiful thing. And, uh, a, a great way to encourage people, I think, to think about these connections. You know, the, um, the word for immigrant, uh, uh, the word for stranger, uh, in, in Hebrew, right, is, uh, can also be tr- translated as immigrant. Uh, and, and so, you know, when we hear over and over again in the Bible about you must welcome the stranger, you must, you know, treat the foreigner as if you, they're one of your own, well, I mean, that's exactly what's happening here. And, uh, so many people who are people of faith who are running the, the policies of our nation are saying no to that, and then trying to, at the same time, claim to be people of faith.
GEORGE (23:06):
Uh, and it's just, it's, uh, it's something we need to, uh, wrestle with in our, in our communities and, uh, and challenge each other about. And I hope that that time of some reckoning is, is an eye upon us now.
CASEY (23:19):
I hope so, too. Yeah. But I, I, I just have to say, this whole time, since 2018, I've been... What do I wanna say? I've been heartbroken by the work I have to do, but I've been so heartened by the people I've met over time who really just wanna help, so.
GEORGE (23:35):
Well, thank you so much for, for this, uh, witness, uh, for being a faithful dissenter, uh, for, um, for generosity, both of spirit and of treasure as well. And, uh, God only knows, um, how much treasure you have laid up for yourself as a result of this because of, of what's happened to these children and family. Thank you, Casey. Uh, we're grateful to have you on Good God.
CASEY (24:09):
Thank you for having me.
GEORGE (24:11):
Till next time, keep the faith.