When people arrive at the Ste. Genevieve jail after being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, they can go days in detention without reaching their families.

“Can you imagine not knowing where your spouse is for five or six days? That, to me, is just horrifying,” said Susan Johnson, an activist in the southeast Missouri county providing aid to detainees during their stay at the jail.

In July, Johnson began organizing volunteers in her hometown of 5,000 people after learning about the work of Abide in Love activists supporting federal detainees in Rolla and became the organization's first affiliate chapter.

The jail in Ste. Genevieve is one of four in the state that contract with the federal government to house people awaiting immigration proceedings, including dep

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