A dozen Indianapolis residents gathered Tuesday evening for a letter-writing session to immigrants being held in ICE detention centers in Indiana.

“They may have removed you from our presence, but they can never steal your hope,” wrote Cecilia Gomez, a social worker.

The event was organized by Umeed-Hope and the Indianapolis Liberation Center Volunteers, two local organizations. Most participants wrote letters in English, which will be translated into Haitian Creole and Punjabi, a language spoken by people from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan.

Komal Kaur, president and co-founder of Umeed-Hope, said the groups chose those languages because there are limited translation resources available in the prison system for those communities.

From protests to lawsuits, immigrant rights activist groups have taken a range of actions to push back against the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown. These actions, Kaur said, are happening on the outside.

“Writing letters and being able to do virtual visits online, all of these are direct ways in order for us to communicate with all of those individuals detained,” Kaur said.

There is no exact number of how many immigrants are detained in Indiana. In early August, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new partnership with the state to expand ICE detention space by 1,000 beds.

Federal and state leaders are also working on plans to use Camp Atterbury, a central Indiana military base, to temporarily house detainees.

“I felt it was important for me to write this letter because I really do feel that this has been such a waste of our time and resources for our government to attack our immigrant neighbors in such a way,” said Stephen Lane, 40, a librarian.

Kaur said the letters will be delivered Saturday to facilities in Marion County and Clay County.