(Por favor, vea la traducción de esta carta al español abajo)  View/download the .pdf of the letter October 24, 2022  Julissa Mantilla Falcón, President of the IACHR Edgar Stuardo Ralón Orellana, First Vice-President of the IACHR Margarette May Macaulay, Second Vice-President of the IACHR Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño, Commissioner of the IACHR Joel Hernández García, Commissioner of the IACHR Roberta Clarke, Commissioner of the IACHR Carlos Bernal Pulido, Commissioner of the IACHR Tania Reneaum Panszi, Executive Secretary of the IACHR Organization of American States 1889 F St NW Washington, D.C., 20006  Continue reading

UPDATE 5/6/2022: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a memo announcing the elimination of Border Patrol Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs), which have repeatedly interfered with law enforcement investigations of agents involved in the killing and harming of community members. Read our press release here.  Continue reading

UPDATE 5/6/2022: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a memo announcing the elimination of Border Patrol Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs), which have repeatedly interfered with law enforcement investigations of agents involved in the killing and harming of community members. Read our press release here.  Continue reading

As a coalition grounded in protecting and advancing human rights in the borderlands, the Southern Border Communities Coalition can celebrate the following accomplishments that were the direct result of our work and collaborative efforts. Continue reading

SBCC’s director, Vicki B. Gaubeca, sets the record straight By Vicki B. Gaubeca The Southern Border region has always been a place of hope, welcoming and opportunity. With the current challenges facing us in the region, this nation has a chance and a responsibility to live up to our values, do the right thing, and develop fair, humane and functional systems to welcome vulnerable newcomers, as well as border residents, at our southern border. We want to make sure we, as people who live and work in the southern border region, set the record straight, and answer some questions we’ve heard below. Continue reading

By Sarah Towle There haven’t been many moments of joy in the U.S. immigration space these past four years. But March brought celebration to the borderlands as we witnessed the good guys — and gals — prevail over the evil villain, Hollywood-style — if only for a moment. Continue reading

The Southern Border region has always been a place of hope, welcoming and opportunity. Border communities know that the challenges we’re experiencing at the border are NOT a ‘crisis’ and are not new — they are the result of the hyper-militarization of the Southern Border over the last two decades that has criminalized migrants, rather than recognized them as human beings. It is also the result of the near total closure of the border to people seeking protection, which is an abdication of the United States government’s responsibility in the global community. The government has gone so far as to weaponize laws and provisions against migrants that meant to keep people safe, like Title 42. Trump’s misuse of Title 42 to block and expel asylum seekers placed them in grave danger, and one year later, President Biden has done nothing to stop it. Continue reading

Communities along the U.S.-Mexico border are home to millions of people and are diverse and vibrant places of encounter, hope and opportunity. But for decades, border communities have borne the brunt of a deeply misguided (often bipartisan) political strategy that unwisely attempts to offset immigration reforms with the so-called need for border “security” that is devastating to the region. Continue reading

Border walls came to symbolize Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, and were prioritized during his administration.  The 400 miles of border wall that he has overseen will inflict ongoing damage upon Native American nations and border towns, fragile ecosystems and endangered species, for as long as they stand. Continue reading