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One_liners
_Arizona Pima County supervisors voted 3-2 to oppose the deployment (go to bottom of article) of National Guard to the border, with one supervisor labeling the decision an “attack on our way of life.”
_DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen persisted on falsely claiming a crisis at the border during her visit to Yuma, echoing the same tired and erroneous arguments from President Trump.
_SBCC steering committee member Joanna Williams of Kino Border Initiative noted the “hurtful and contradictory” deployment of National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border and increased anxiety from residents who already feel “heavily surveilled.”
_SBCC steering committee members Pedro Rios of American Friends Service Committee and Lillian Serrano of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium both expressed frustration at California Governor Jerry Brown’s acquiescence to join the absurd #TanTrump and deploy National Guard to the border.
_Check out CATO Institute’s new Checkpoint America website that pinpoints where invasive Border Patrol checkpoints are deployed across the southern border region, showing how many are far (up to 100 miles) from the actual border.
_Jury deliberations have started in the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez by Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz; we hope justice is served.
_Kevin Bixby, executive director of the South West Environmental Center (SWEC) and SBCC steering committee member, wrote a letter to the editor stating that Doña Ana County should not help build Trump’s wall.
_USA Today produced this in-depth special report about the U.S.-Mexico border and border wall.
Must_reads
_Royal high wire act. U.S. Congressional Reps. Jeff Denham (R-CA), Pete Aguilar (D-CA), Will Hurd (R-TX) and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair, Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), announced this week that they had enough votes to potentially force a debate and a vote on several bills that could protect Dreamers, including the bipartisan DREAM Act of 2017. The group announced it had 237 (now 245) co-sponsors to use a special rule in the House called the “Queen of the Hill,” which would allow for the forced introduction of four bills. The one bill that receives the majority of votes above the minimum 218 would pass the House. Here is our statement which thanks the group for their leadership, but also flags our concerns related to bills that would further militarize our communities. To be clear, we’re so totally for a Dream Act, especially since 1 out of every 5 DACA recipients live in the border region. However, we need to make sure that this happens without further militarization of the border, which could happen if, for example, the extraordinarily harmful Goodlatte-McSally bill garners the most votes. So be sure to let your congressional members know that you support a Dream Act without further border militarization.
_In focus. The ACLU Border Rights Center and the ACLU of Texas recently launched the MigraCam app for both iPhone and Android smartphones. People can use the app to notify friends and families if they are affected or witness a immigration or border enforcement activity. “Policymakers have not done enough to protect our immigrant communities,” notes Astrid Dominguez, ACLU Border Rights Center Director and SBCC ally, “so we have to give those communities the tools to defend themselves. With MigraCam, people will have the power not only to alert families, friends and loved ones of their location when an incident occurs, they will also be able to start streaming video evidence seconds after the raid or stop begins.”
_ Resistance Defined. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions thought he was going to have it easy peasy when he visited Las Cruces, New Mexico. Instead about 200 people showed up to protest his visit. SBCC Steering Committee Member Johana Bencomo of New Mexico Comunidades en Acción y de Fé (CAFé) poignantly noted, “President Trump has run from day one on an anti-immigrant, white supremacist, nationalist agenda against particularly immigrants of color.” CAFé also engaged in a bit of civil disobedience. Watchale!
_Just Say No. Add the name of your organization to #NoBorderWall coalition’s sign-on letter opposing any funding for border wall construction in the FY19 appropriations cycle. The Department of Homeland Security Budget for Fiscal Year 2019 is requesting another $1.6 billion for the wall (same amount that was requested and agreed to in the now passed FY18 omnibus). Deadline to sign on is today, April 20, COB!
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border_lines is published every Friday for your reading pleasure. If you’d like to submit an item for inclusion, please email Vicki B. Gaubeca at [email protected], by Wednesday COB.