In a rural town in south Georgia, sits “El Refugio,” a charming white home with green shutters. For 15 years, thousands have walked through its doors during the hardest moments of their lives. The house serves as a refuge for families of immigrants detained just two miles away at one of the largest immigration detention centers in the U.S. In recent months, the visits to El Refugio have skyrocketed. 

We spend 48 hours inside El Refugio, the only hospitality house of its kind in the nation. We meet the volunteers who run the home and visit with detainees, and get to know some of the families passing through the house on their way to Stewart Detention Center.

This article was published in partnership with Futuro Investigates and The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook.

Cover illustration by Diego Perdomo with photography by Rita Harper for the Marshall Project.

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