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International Detention Coalition (IDC)

Website:

idcoalition.org/
Type:

Immigration advocacy group
Formation:

2009
Executive Director:

Carolina Gottardo
Location:

Melbourne, Australia

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The International Detention Coalition (IDC) is an immigrant-advocacy network that consists of member organizations across 75 countries around the world. The organization focuses on advocating for changes to immigration laws, particularly by promoting alternatives to the detention of illegal migrants, as the organization believes illegal migrants “should be able to live freely” while waiting for the results of their immigration cases. 1

The International Detention Coalition receives funding from private grantmaking foundations including the MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Foundation to Promote Open Society. 2 3 4

Background

The International Detention Coalition, which was founded in 2009 and works directly with governments, United Nations agencies, and NGOs in an attempt to prevent immigration detention around the world. 1

Affiliated Organizations

The International Detention Coalition had a network of more than 200 member organizations at its inception in 2009. 5 6

Member organizations included human rights NGO Amnesty International; left-leaning activist group ACLU; left-of-center human rights organization Human Rights Watch; left-of-center public interest law group the Southern Coalition for Social Justice; political rights and civil liberties NGO Freedom House; and the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. 7

The International Detention Coalition filed a joint amicus brief in the Mexican Supreme Court regarding the nation’s immigration policy with Global Strategic Litigation Council for Refugee Rights in February 2023. Another amicus brief was jointly filed by the organizations in the Mexican Ninth Collegiate Court in May 2023. 8

The Global Strategic Litigation Council for Refugee Rights is a legal advocacy group and project of Cornell University Law School and The New School’s Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility. The organization claims to defend the legal rights of refugees while providing prospective migrants with resources to assist in migrating to countries including the United States. 8

People

Carolina Gottardo is the executive director of the International Detention Coalition. 9 Gottardo was the national policy director of the Refugee Council of Australia from 2006 until 2007, was a trustee for the London-based Gender and Development Network from 2009 until 2010, and was a member of the executive committee for the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants from 2016 until 2017. 10

Gottardo was also the vice chair of the Black and Ethnic Minority Advice Network from July 2016 until April 2017, was co-chair of the executive committee at the End Child Detention Coalition from May 2017 until October 2019, and became a board member at the International Detention Coalition in November 2018. 10

Gottardo became a member of the UN Women Expert Group on Gender and Migration in January 2017 and is a board member of multiple organizations including the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, the Global Coalition for Migration, and the Women in Migration Network. She became the International Detention Coalition’s executive director in November 2020, a position she still holds as of March 2025. 10

Funding

The International Detention Coalition receives funding from private grantmaking foundations including the MacArthur Foundation, which granted IDC $200,000 in 2013 and $150,000 in 2016. 2

IDC has also received grants from the Ford Foundation, including $50,000 in 2012, $275,000 in 2013, and $230,000 in 2015. All three grants were focused on alternatives to immigration detention in Mexico. 3

IDC has received seven grants from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, one of the major grantmaking foundations funded by billionaire George Soros. The foundation granted IDC $300,000 in 2017, $100,000 in 2018, $300,000 in 2019, $134,000 in two grants in 2020, $155,000 in 2021, and $400,000 in 2023. 4

References

  1. “Our Story.” International Detention Coalition. January 29, 2024. Accessed March 3, 2025. https://idcoalition.org/our-story/.
  2. “International Detention Coalition.” MacArthur Foundation. March 20, 2013. Accessed March 3, 2025. https://www.macfound.org/grantee/international-detention-coalition-45553/.
  3. “Grants Database.” Ford Foundation. Accessed March 3, 2025. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/?search=international+detention+coalition.
  4. “Open Society Foundations – Awarded Grants, Scholarships, and Fellowships.” Open Society Foundations. Accessed March 3, 2025. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=international+detention+coalition.
  5. [1] “About Us « International Detention Coalition.” Accessed March 3, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20110218155251/http://idcoalition.org/aboutus/.
  6. “IDC Member List « International Detention Coalition.” Accessed March 3, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20110218165341/http://idcoalition.org/idc-member-list/.
  7. “North America « International Detention Coalition.” Accessed March 3, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20110218175123/http://idcoalition.org/aboutus/members/56/.
  8. “Global Strategic Litigation Council for Refugee Rights.” Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility. Accessed March 3, 2025. https://zolberginstitute.org/initiatives/gslc/.
  9. “Carolina Gottardo.” International Detention Coalition. Accessed March 3, 2025. https://idcoalition.org/staff/carolina-gottardo/.
  10. “Carolina Gottardo – Experience.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 3, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolina-gottardo-94153648/details/experience/.
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