A 24-hour Deportation Family Support Hotline was unveiled yesterday in Chicago in order to assist Illinois families and children left behind in deportation cases.   This Spanish language contact center solution, the HELP-MY-F(amily) hotline, will serve bilingual callers who speak English, Spanish, Korean and Portuguese.

A recent article highlighted that this marks the first time in the country’s history that a dedicated 24-hour crisis hotline is being used in an attempt to handle immigration issues. Although the call center is currently located in Chi-town, throughout its month-long trial run it will transfer incoming calls spread all over the U.S.

Within the past five years, approximately 48,330 people have been deported from the Chicago ICE region. Nationwide, 400,000 individuals were deported in 2010 leaving around 80,550 children without any form of supervision, the article claimed. Callers that utilize this Spanish language contact center solution will gain access to important information all about legal aid, social services for family members and immigration law information.

Stephen Smith, director of Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) said in a statement in regards to most of the calls, they are being received “from people asking questions about the 300,000 deportation cases under review.” 

According to the article, this hotline has been made possible by a collaborative effort from ICIRR as well as 35 Chicago social service agencies; the Catholic Church and other ministers; 17 private law firms and the National Immigrant Justice Center; Mexican hometown federations; the Adler School of Professional Psychology; the Mexican Consulate; and 67 trained bilingual volunteers.