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At Casa Alterna, we practice radical hospitality and faithful resistance. We envision a world where love crosses borders.
Learn about our history and the formation of our community and practice of hospitality as resistance.
Casa Alterna's work is rooted in a wider community of organizations and faith communities walking alongside us at the border.
We are committed to transparency and responsible stewardship of all contributions in support of our mission.

Casa Alterna Fall Work Day

Discussing Immigrant Justice With Sarah Towle & Anton Flores-Maisonet

Casa Alterna 20 Years Anniversary Celebration

Midwives of Justice

Join Compas at the Gates of ICE

Donate breakfast and snack bars

Give

Growing Together: A New Community Begins

News & Updates

Returning

Letter from the Gates of ICE

In Their Shoes Without Laces

On Pilgrimage

Whose Land Is This?

One Bear at a Time

Remaining Awake Through Another Great Revolution

Speaking Truth: Dignity, Democracy, and Due Process

A Living Pilgrimage of Peace

Anton Flores-Maisonet

Bernadette Naro

Heather Bargeron

Jacky Veliz Medrano

Dianne Garcia

It's your last chance to be a part of the 20th Anniversary fundraiser! We are so thankful to everyone that has contributed. If you have not had the chance yet, please consider supporting us in this final moment of the campaign. The last day is October 31.

Anton Flores-Maisonet recently led an immigrant justice walking pilgrimage in Atlanta with Mennonites from across the country. "We began with an interfaith prayer vigil outside the ICE field office, then walked together to the King crypts, pausing along the way to learn about the obstacles and injustices newcomers face in these particularly cruel days. Through this pilgrimage, we sought to deepen our commitment to immigrant justice and to the ongoing work of building Beloved Community."

Help us finish some much needed tasks then stay for a shared meal after!

We are overwhelmed by the generosity and love that has been shown to Casa Alterna in honor of our 20th anniversary. We have surpassed our goal and raised $27,500! We think we can reach $30,000 by Oct. 31 with your help. Need more inspiration? Read this moving reflection and call to action that one community member shared during the 20th celebration. Link in bio.

Join our founding director Anton Flores-Maisonet and author Sarah Towle tomorrow evening for Discussing Immigrant Justice. More information and registration link in the comments.

Join our founding director, Anton Flores-Maisonet @antonfloresm for a virtual conversation about his book, Welcome, Friends: Stories of Hope and Hospitality with Immigrants. Hosted by our friends @pendlehillusa. Thursday, October 15 7 - 8:30pm Registration link in comments. Welcome, Friends is a book shaped by open doors, shared meals, late-night tears, and the unshakable belief that love crosses borders. In these pages, Anton Flores-Maisonet weaves powerful stories of welcoming immigrants – from the grief-soaked silence of detention centers and immigration courts to the everyday grace of a welcome table set for strangers who become friends.

Our hearts are still full from our 20th anniv celebration, including the keynote address from our friend, Rev. Dianne Garcia @lapastoraperegrina on the power of vulnerable love. And there is still time to help us reach our goal of $20K for 20 years! Read all about it in our latest newsletter! Link in bio.

What a weekend! We are overflowing with gratitude and joy from this weekend's 20th anniversary events! What a beautiful, generous and abundant community we have...past and present! @lacholoteca @lapastoraperegrina @elrefugiostewart @mercychurchatl @swhosit Our 20th anniversary fundraising campaign is still going! We’re raising $20,000 for 20 years to help sustain and grow Casa Alterna’s work of hospitality, accompaniment, and solidarity with immigrants. ✨ We’ve raised close to $17,000 so far—and we’re aiming for $20,000 by October 31. If you’ve been part of Casa Alterna’s story, this is an invitation to help carry that story forward. Every gift, every share, and every act of support helps us keep going. Will you help us reach $20,000 for 20 years? Donate at casaalterna.org/donate/ and select “20th Anniversary Celebration.”

Join us TODAY for a time of connection, learning and inspiration to continue the journey for love and justice! 🎤 Dianne Garcia, Pastor of Iglesia Cristiana Roca de Refugio, will share our keynote. 💬 Panel and discussion with Immigration Attorney, Sarah Owings and El Refugio Executive Director, Amilcar Valencia, 🎶 Music to inspire and ground us with Chad Hyatt, Pastor of Mercy Community Church ⏰ 10am - 1pm 📍 Atlanta Friends Meeting, 701 W. Howard Ave., Decatur 🍴 Light refreshments provided 💜 FREE and open to all! 🔗 More info and RSVP casaalterna.org/20th-anniversary/

Only 48 hours until our 20th celebration! Please join us! More details and RSVP: casaalterna.org/20th-anniversary/ 🎊 💜

El amor cruza fronteras. Love crosses borders. And for 20 years, that love has sustained Casa Alterna. Give to a love that will continue crossing borders, building community, and resisting fear. Link in bio.

#flashbackfriday Board member, Fer Mucchiut, reminds us about the simple but transformative values that Casa Alterna embodies: radical hospitality and a community of solidarity. Your support helps sustain this small and mighty community. As we celebrate 20 years, help us reach our $20K goal! Donate and join our 20th celebration 10/3-4 at casaalterna.org.

Celebrate, connect and imagine a way forward together! Join Casa Alterna's Festival of Hospitality and Resistance - part of our 20th anniversary celebration - a time to listen, learn, and connect with others who are committed to building communities of welcome and belonging. Saturday, October 3, 10am–1pm 🎤 Dianne Garcia, Pastor of Iglesia Cristiana Roca de Refugio @rocaderefugiosatx, will offer our keynote. 💬 Immigration Attorney, Sarah Owings @swhosit and El Refugio Executive Director, Amilcar Valencia @elrefugiostewart , will share reflections, and come together for a panel conversation about where we go from here in the movement for immigrant hospitality and justice. 🎶 And Chad Hyatt, Pastor of Mercy Community Church @mercychurchatl, will gift us with music to inspire and give us hope throughout the morning! Come be part of the conversation—and help us imagine the next 20 years of hospitality and resistance! 📍 Atlanta Friends Meeting, 701 W. Howard Ave., Decatur 🍴 Light refreshments provided 💜 Free and open to all 🔗 More info and RSVP link in bio

✨ **Meet our keynote speaker!** ✨ We’re thrilled to welcome Dianne Garcia @lapastoraperegrina as the keynote speaker for our Festival of Hospitality and Resistance on Saturday, October 3, as part of Casa Alterna’s 20th Anniversary Celebration! Dianne is the lead pastor and one of the original founders of Iglesia Cristiana Roca de Refugio @rocaderefugiosatx, a church community committed to belonging and belovedness for people from all over the world. In 2024, the church launched Nuevos Vecinos, a ministry building communities of hope alongside immigrant families. Dianne believes that the call of hospitality requires us to be co-creators in the transformation of the world, rooted in shared leadership, shared learning, and shared liberation. 💛 Join us for a morning of listening, learning, celebration, and recommitment to the work of immigrant hospitality and faithful resistance. 📅 **Saturday, October 3 | 10 a.m.–1 p.m.** 📍 Atlanta Friends Meeting, Decatur 🎟️ **Free and open to all!** Come celebrate **20 years of Casa Alterna** and imagine what’s possible for the next 20. 👉 More info and RSVP link in bio.

Help us mark 20 years of radical hospitality and faithful resistance and continue our commitment to solidarity with immigrant neighbors with a gift today. Donate link in bio.

Our Founding Director, Anton Flores-Maisonet, offered the Stephen G. Cary Memorial Lecture on "Love Crosses Borders" this week at @@pendlehillusa. The Pendle Hill community embodies that message, and wears it loud and proud 😀! See the link in the comments to Anton's full presentation.

Come and celebrate with us Oct. 3-4! RSVP link in bio.

Wayback Wednesday! From an intentional community of hospitality in Lagrange in 2006 to a 20-year journey of hospitality, accompaniment and and justice-seeking with immigrant neighbors. This story belongs to all of us who have shared in Casa Alterna's journey. Come celebrate with us October 3-4! More details and RSVP link in the comments. And if Casa Alterna has been part of your story, consider making a 20th anniversary gift toward our $20,000 goal. casaalterna.org/donate

Casa Alterna is turning 20! Join us Oct. 3–4 for a weekend of hospitality, resistance, celebration, and spiritual grounding. All three events pictured below are free and open to the public. Come for one or join us for the whole weekend, and please share this invitation with your friends, congregation, and community! RSVP link in bio. Our anniversary goal is to raise $20,000 to help carry Casa Alterna’s work into its next chapter. Every gift, at every level, helps keep love crossing borders. 💜

"An embrace of relief. An embrace of reunion. An embrace of hope." Photos and reflections from our Guatemala Accompaniment Coordinator, Jacky, show the love, grief and hope of those deported and returned to Guatemala and their loved ones. See more in our latest e-news. Link in bio.

Our Program Manager, Bernadette Naro, recently published an article in the @saportareport about the power of our witness and embodiment of what Pope Francis called a "culture of encounter." Read more and learn how to join our work of solidarity in our latest newsletter. Link in bio.

Check out our new look! And other ways to connect and support a love that crosses borders in our e-news. Link in bio.

On too many recent mornings at the ICE field office in Atlanta, we have watched mothers arrive carrying everything they own, holding the hands of small children whose fathers have been forcibly taken into detention. How are we called to respond to laws that terrorize children and break apart families? Read Anton's challenge to a nation that claims to honor "family values." Link in bio.

May marks 15 months of Casa Alterna's accompaniment work every weekday outside the gates of ICE. This and other ongoing works of radical love are happening through the faithful care and support of volunteers, staff and board. Learn how you can be a part of this love that crosses borders, too. Newsletter link in bio.

This weekend Casa Alterna’s Board of Directors gathered for our semiannual in-person meeting. Board members traveled from near and far to reflect, dream, and discern the future of our shared work together. Friday evening was devoted to personal check-ins, laughter, and a cooperative game that reminded us that trust and relationship are at the center of everything we do. Saturday became the heart of our meeting, beginning with the query: “What flowers are blooming in our desert?” From there, we spent the day exploring new possibilities and navigating important challenges together. Some of the work included: • creating a new leadership structure for staff • welcoming new board members, including a South American resident of our intentional community house and a lead coordinator from our Compas program • considering additional board nominees • exploring a new MOU with a partner congregation • establishing a capital improvements fund for our intentional community house Our board includes members from Argentina, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, and the United States — a living reminder that love crosses borders and that community rooted in solidarity, accompaniment, and hope is still possible.

People stepping off deportation planes often do so in shoes without laces—another small indignity in a much larger unraveling. What happens when someone who has lived that reality returns to meet them with dignity, presence, and care? To read more, see link in bio.

One man— 9 years here. Work permit. Social Security. An active asylum case. Stopped on a bus. Detained for 3 weeks. $10,000 bond. An ankle monitor. He told us he wanted to shout: “What is my crime?” We told him: “You have done nothing wrong.” He cried. We cried. We held each other. His question stays with us: What is my crime? In a system that cages and dehumanizes the vulnerable, no one is treated with the dignity they deserve. You are not alone. #ImmigrantJustice #Accompaniment #Solidarity #DignityNotDetention #LoveCrossesBorders #CompasAtTheGatesOfICE +++++ Un hombre— 9 años aquí. Permiso de trabajo. Seguro Social. Un caso de asilo activo. Detenido en un autobús. Detenido por 3 semanas. Fianza de $10,000. Un grillete electrónico. Nos dijo que quería gritar: “¿Cuál es mi delito?” Le dijimos: “No has hecho nada malo.” Él lloró. Nosotros lloramos. Nos abrazamos. Su pregunta se queda con nosotros: ¿Cuál es mi delito? En un sistema que encarcela y deshumaniza a las personas vulnerables, nadie es tratado con la dignidad que merece. No estás solo. #JusticiaMigratoria #Acompañamiento #Solidaridad #DignidadNoDetención #ElAmorCruzaFronteras #CompasEnLasPuertasDeICE

We ended standing beside the crypts of Coretta Scott King and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., asking: What does Beloved Community require of us now? Recently, Anton led an immigrant justice pilgrimage with a group from the Midwest connected to the Disciples of Christ. We walked from the ICE field office, past a detention center, the State Capitol, a university, and a hospital. At each stop, we named the barriers immigrants face in Georgia: fear, detention, and exclusion—and also strength and hope. This pilgrimage is an invitation to see more clearly, feel more deeply, and act with purpose. If your group is ready to learn and walk with us, we’d love to connect. Love crosses borders, one step at a time.

He stood at the door for over an hour. Not because he didn’t love his daughter—but because he did. Fear, uncertainty, and love all lived in that moment. And he didn’t face it alone. For nearly 15 months, Casa Alterna staff and volunteers have shown up—every weekday morning—at the gates of ICE. We stand in quiet solidarity. We accompany. We bear witness. Because no one should have to walk into that building alone. Because love refuses to stay on the sidelines. Because love crosses borders. #LoveCrossesBorders

This week, Casa Alterna’s Advocacy Committee showed up—at every level—because dignity is not optional. We’ve called on our U.S. Senators and @atlcouncil to demand accountability for what’s happening inside ICE’s Atlanta Field Office. People are being held for days—and even weeks—in a space meant for only a few hours. Reports describe overcrowding, no beds, not enough food, and lack of medical care. These conditions are not just wrong—they violate basic human rights. Earlier this week, we brought that same urgency to City Hall. Our own Grace Agnew spoke in support of the City Council’s recent resolution and called for a full investigation. She spoke with clarity and courage, reminding everyone: behind every policy is a human being—someone’s child, parent, or neighbor. This is not abstract. This is happening in our city. We will keep showing up. We will keep documenting. We will keep demanding accountability. Because silence is complicity—and our community chooses something better. #dignitynotdetention

If you are in Philly this Saturday, join Anton for a workshop on how to birth hope and live courageously in the midst of Empire. Event is FREE and lunch is provided. RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1883226912322271

Lots of ways to renew, sustain hope and build community with Casa Alterna in the coming month! Read about it in our e-news! Link in bio.

Earlier this month, Anton and three Casa Alterna friends traveled to Guatemala on a pilgrimage to learn and stand in solidarity with families whose lives are shaped by displacement and deportation. Read about their journey and ways to support a love that crosses borders in our latest newsletter. Link in bio.

She had waited two days at the gates, unsure if her loved one would return. 💛 Outside the Air Force landing strip in Guatemala City, we stood in compassionate solidarity and helped her check her loved one’s detention status. When the screen confirmed he was no longer in ICE custody, relief and hope filled the air—but we still mourn that this reunion came via deportation. Her courage and patience remind us why standing with families matters. ✨ #DignityNotDetention #Solidarity #LoveCrossesBorders #Guatemala

Today our Destabilization-to-Deportation pilgrimage delegation in Guatemala City attended a press conference ahead of a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the growing practice of deportations to third countries and the expansion of U.S. border enforcement beyond its borders. In the video below, @guerlinem.jozef of the @haitianbridge speaks powerfully about the lack of equal protection under the law for migrants in the United States—particularly Black migrants, who often face harsher detention, discrimination, and deportation policies. Listening here in Guatemala reminded us that migration is not only a humanitarian issue—it is also a question of law, dignity, and equal protection. Our pilgrimage traces the arc from destabilization to deportation, listening to those most impacted and learning from advocates across the Americas who are working for justice. ▶️ Watch the video to hear Guerline’s remarks. #ProtectionNotDeportation #MigrantJustice #HumanRights #Guatemala

Part 2 In this second part of the video, Anton shares lines from Julia Esquivel’s powerful poem They Have Threatened Us with Resurrection. Esquivel, a Guatemalan poet and theologian, wrote these words during the country’s years of terror, when many who spoke for justice were silenced or forced into exile. Her poem became a quiet anthem of defiance and faith for communities who refused to let violence erase their hope. Even here—especially here—resurrection rises. #Guatemala #Resurrection #MemoryAndHope

Yesterday we spent the day with Pastor Diego and his family—people whose lives carry both deep grief and stubborn hope. Pastor Diego stood on the frontlines as members of his Mayan community were massacred during Guatemala’s armed conflict. In the years that followed, he and many widows refused to let death have the final word. Together they formed the Ruth & Nohemí cooperative, transforming loss into dignity, work, and community. In this video, Mike reflects on what it means to hear those cries of history up close and personal.

Yesterday, Alberto, Mike, Barrett, and Anton, along with a small binational delegation, carried our Compas work to a different set of gates—the gates where deportation planes arrive in Guatemala City. Here, those on the flights are not called “deportees,” but simply “returned Guatemalans.” While families waited for loved ones being forcibly repatriated to Guatemala, we distributed snacks and water and, most importantly, listened—deeply listened—to the hopes and fears of children, siblings, and grandparents awaiting their arrival. For 20 years, Casa Alterna has borne witness to the truth that, even in the face of the cruelest injustices, love crosses borders.

What makes a homeland? And who gets to decide whose home it is? Our Program Director, Bernadette Naro, explores these questions from the vantage point of accompanying immigrant neighbors with Compas at the Gates of ICE. Link in bio.

Anton, Mike, and Alberto are heading to Guatemala to witness firsthand how love crosses borders. There, they’ll meet mixed-status families who have experienced deportation, stand in vigil with Guatemalans outside the military airstrip where deportation planes arrive, visit a migrant shelter, and receive hospitality from Indigenous communities who continue to stand with dignity despite generations of colonization and violence. They go to listen, to learn, and to stand in solidarity with those whose lives are shaped by displacement, deportation, and resilient resistance.

This weekend, our founder, Anton Flores-Maisonet, led a “Midwives of Justice” workshop at West Union Mennonite Church, hosted by Iowa Mennonite Action, and preached on the First Sunday of Lent: “Eli, Eli: Faith for the Forsaken.” He also spent time with the Iowa City Catholic Worker, witnessing radical hospitality with immigrants. Grateful for the Mennonites and Catholics whose quiet faithfulness shows how love crosses borders through small acts of great love.

This afternoon, staff and volunteers from Casa Alterna joined @ginij4all @elrefugiostewart @community_estrella_1 and others outside the gates of Deyton Detention Center, holding vigil and demanding justice for Heber Sanchez Dominguez. We gathered in grief. We gathered in righteous anger. We gathered in hope that truth will come to light and that no more lives will be lost behind these walls. Heber, hermano, padre, compañero — you are not forgotten. Your name was spoken. Your dignity was defended. ¡Presente! #JusticeForHeber #FreeThemAll #communitiesnotcages #LoveCrossesBorders

✨ Last night was pure magic. ✨ The room was overflowing — not just with people, but with hope, love, resilience, and energy that couldn’t be contained. Every smile, every cheer, every moment felt like a memory we’ll carry forever. 💫 Swipe through ➡️ to relive the moments that made this night unforgettable. Here’s to more nights like this. ❤️🏈 #DeBíTiRaRMásFooTBaLL #superbowl #benitobowl #badbunny #lovecrossesborders

What a night. 💃🏽 🐰 ✨ DeBí TiRaR MáS FooTBaLL was standing room only, and our hearts are still full. Huge gratitude to @thinking.man.tavern for hosting us and holding space so generously, and to DJ @la.superiorrr from for spinning Latin music all night long and keeping the dance floor on fire🔥 . And let’s talk about the halftime — everyone started singing and dancing along to Bad Bunny’s set, it was electric ⚡! That moment of connection lit up the room and lifted us even higher. ￼ Together, we made so many new friends, shared stories, moved our bodies, and remembered that joy itself is an act of resistance. Thank you to everyone who showed up, danced hard, and helped make this fundraiser unforgettable. La lucha sigue—and so does the joy. 💛🔥

🎉 Join us for a Night of Resilience, Resistance, and Joy! 🎉 We’re hosting an “alterna”-tive Super Bowl party — Debí Tirar Más Football — at @thinking.man.tavern , and you’re invited! Come dance the night away with beats by DJ La Superiorrr of @lacholoteca . We’ll also be partying to Bad Bunny’s historic performance. The game will be on the big screen, and it’s an all-ages event, so bring everyone along. Let’s celebrate community, culture, and the spirit of togetherness. See you there! 🥳 #debítirarmásfootball #lovecrossesborders

TOMORROW! Come for an Alterna-tive Super Bowl @thinking.man.tavern, great music with @la.superiorrr and, of course, Bad Bunny! Nos vemos mañana!

When the state answers fear with guns and threats, it has lost its soul. Killing civilians and terrorizing immigrants is not justice. It is injustice. We will not be made safe by raids or cruelty, but by mercy, hospitality, and courage. Protect the stranger — and we protect us all.

A small handmade bear can calm a frightened child—and soften a moment filled with fear. At ICE field offices, Casa Alterna volunteers are offering comfort and solidarity through simple acts of care, stitched together one bear at a time. Read more and learn how you can support in our newsletter! Link in bio.

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