IRTF - The InterReligious Task Force on Central America

IRTF - The InterReligious Task Force on Central America Promoting political, economic and social justice for the peoples of Central America and Colombia.

Columbus has paused its Flock system after learning it was used for stalking. Why hasn’t Cleveland? Mayor Ginther says h...
09/04/2026

Columbus has paused its Flock system after learning it was used for stalking.

Why hasn’t Cleveland?

Mayor Ginther says his trust in Flock is ‘shaken.’

How does Mayor Bibb feel?

08/28/2026

We’re not going anywhere! People all over the country, people all over the world, people across Ohio, people around the county, people across the Cuyahoga River and people across the aisle… all agree. Cancel the Contract. Remove don’t Replace. Divest from the surveillance state, invest in constitutional rights and legal protections!

Join us this Sunday for Flock No! Back-to-School Birdwatching on the East and West sides of Cleveland. More details at link in Flock NO Cleveland + friends and IRTF Cleveland bios

08/28/2026

Chairman Verlon Jose said the tribe escorted about a half-dozen contractors off the Nation in recent weeks to stave off construction.

Thank you workers for standing strong
08/27/2026

Thank you workers for standing strong

08/26/2026

Josiah Quarles knows too well what it's like to be on the receiving end of surveillance and intimidation. Tools like Flock turbocharge the ability for rogue agencies like ICE or bad actors in law enforcement to terrorize innocent people.

And here are some receipts for his claims:
1. In Roseville, CA, Flock cameras had a 71% error rate. A man in Toledo is suing the city after being misidentified by Flock – resulting in an attack by a K-9 that left him severely injured.
2. Studies have shown that Flock/ALPRs are more likely to be placed in Black and brown communities AND use of predictive analytics penalizes people based on race and socioeconomic status.
3. The Trump administration has sent federal agents into Ohio to raid the state's largest voter registration organization (Ohio Organizing Collaborative) and charged 15 activists in Minnesota with "engaging in a conspiracy to impede federal agents."

The stakes are deadly serious. Thank you, Josiah, for your testimony.

08/26/2026

On Sunday, August 30th, there will be another fun opportunity to show up for the campaign: namely, the Back-to-School Birding Expedition, an action protesting the use of Flock cameras by Cleveland Metropolitan School District!

We will have meet-up locations on the East and West Sides – please let us know if you can join us at one or both!
West Side: Newton D. Baker, 3690 W. 159th, 9:30 am
East Side: Collinwood High School, 15210 Saint Clair Ave, 1:00 pm

Please wear any Flock No t-shirts, buttons, or other paraphernalia you might have, plus your best birding gear (Binoculars! Hats! Field guides!). We’ll be trying to spot at least a couple Flock ALPRs, which are known to roost near shuttered CMSD properties, and we’ll also be pointing out the many, many ways the $600,000 spent annually by the District could be better used to invest in students and educators!

08/24/2026

With 45 seconds left to speak while the commenter asks a question of the mayor, the council president should have allowed the commenter the same amount of time to speak as the other commenters, especially considering he extended time for several other people. Instead he is gaveled off the record. If our “representatives” won’t answer our questions on the record, or our calls “off the record”, how can they represent us? . All these local governments should answer to the people, instead they are beholden to corporations pushing a dystopian techno fascist future and other oligarchs. When the power of love overcomes the love of power (money) the world will know peace. -Jimi Hendrix

08/16/2026

TWENTY TWO people freed from ICE in the last two weeks in the time before our funds ran out, bringing our total for 2026 to 276.

This number makes two things clear:

1) the need for bond assistance is STRONG. Each one of these twenty two people were returning to their lives disrupted by the violence of ICE detention, but couldn’t do so because of the extreme financial barriers of bond.

2) we have the hardest-working volunteer team team in the biz. Every person who works with MIBF, from our bond squad to our treasurer to the person writing this post is a completely unpaid volunteer. There is so much that goes into this work—from negotiating back and forth with ICE about releases and coordinating with families and attorneys, to making graphics, to balancing the books and ensuring we have all the records we need to ensure compliance—and it’s all done by folks balancing jobs (many of them stressful!) or full-time school, and all the other stuff that goes into managing a life, from child care to dentists appointments to doing the dishes. And amidst all of that, also planning and prepping and working incredibly hard to ensure other people can get back to doing the lovely mundanity of their dishes in their own home.

Keeping an all volunteer workforce means that your donations go incredibly far—we keep a small amount on hand to pay for a few services (bookkeeping, web hosting, mail), and everything else goes straight to getting folks out of immigration detention.

Please help us keep doing this work, and donate so we can reopen our application. Right now, a donor is matching funds, dollar-for-dollar, up to $50,000, so there’s no better time to give. mibfc.org/donate

National week of action against ALPRs. August 16-22. Upcoming events: Sunday, August 16. 1-4 PM. Get the Flock out of Cu...
08/12/2026

National week of action against ALPRs. August 16-22.

Upcoming events:
Sunday, August 16. 1-4 PM. Get the Flock out of Cuyahoga County conference. Neighborhood Connections, 6601 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44103.

Monday, August 17. 7 PM. Join Cleveland Heights for Immigrant Rights for a rally and to pack city council for public comment. 40 Severance Circle, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118.

Tuesday, August 18. 630-8 PM. Let This Radicalize You book club. Shaker main library.
Wednesday, August 19. 4-6 PM. Shake Off Flock rally. Chagrin and Warrensville intersection.

Surveillance makes us less safe, violates our privacy, and wastes our money. Just Say NO to mass surveillance.

Address

3606 Bridge Avenue
Cleveland, OH
44113

Telephone

+12169610001

Website

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