SOUTHERN BORDER, October 28, 2021 — Yesterday, the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) sent a letter calling on Congress to launch an investigation and oversight hearings into the unlawful operation of Border Patrol’s Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs). These teams act without congressional authority to obstruct justice, undermine public safety, and violate public trust. Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER — Today, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new standardized policy – effective immediately – that prevents Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials from engaging in law enforcement activities in or near  “protected locations” (formerly known as “sensitive locations”). The policy also expands the definition of protected locations to include places that had not been included before, such as school bus stops, social services establishments (such as domestic violence shelters), and disaster and emergency services locations, among others. Continue reading

Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, in an effort to avoid a government shutdown, Congress passed a stopgap spending bill that will continue the same levels of funding for immigration detention and enforcement approved under the Trump administration until a federal budget for Fiscal Year 2022 is finalized. After weeks of action from the Defund Hate coalition, including a video campaign and a letter signed by over 150 organizations urging the House and Senate to reject the Biden administration’s proposal of additional provisions, or “anomalies,” to allow ICE and CBP access to more funding, no increases to immigration enforcement spending were included in the short-term spending bill. Continue reading

  SOUTHERN BORDER, September 24, 2021 — Members of the delegation invited by DHS to tour the government’s operational response to Haitian migrants seeking protection near the Del Rio - Acuña International Bridge spoke about what they witnessed on Friday. The tour included leaders from community organizations, faith organizations, human rights organizations, and elected officials serving the Haitian community including the Family Action Network, Haitian American CDC, Faith in Action, Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center in Miami, Faith in Florida, Haitian Bridge, the Archdiocese of Miami, National Alliance for the Advancement of Haitian Professionals, and the Southern Border Communities Coalition. Continue reading

  September 21, 2021   President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20500   Dear Mr. President, The leadership of the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) write this letter to express our repugnance and strong objections to your administration’s adoption and continuation of cruel, unethical and illegal policies that inflict more harm on those arriving to our borders seeking protection, including the gross mishandling of Haitian refugees upon arrival at the U.S.-Mexico border, and in particular near the Del Rio, Texas, port of entry. Continue reading

© 2021 AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin Abandon Deterrence Model for Immigrants, Asylum Seekers, Groups Urge (Washington, DC, September 15, 2021) – Extreme heat in the United States in the summer of 2021 underscores the urgency of adopting a climate-informed approach to policies affecting border communities, migrants, and asylum seekers, a group of 68 rights organizations said today in a letter to the Biden administration. The groups include Human Rights Watch, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Southern Border Communities Coalition, the American Friends Service Committee, Amnesty International USA, and dozens of others. Continue reading

Members of the media can schedule an interview with Vicki Gaubeca by contacting Kendall Martin at [email protected] or by calling or texting him at (619) 629-0337. SOUTHERN BORDER — Today, the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) as part of the We Are Home campaign are announcing a week of action to demand transformative change to the U.S. immigration system. We need to revitalize the southern border region with a new vision that expands public safety, upholds human rights and welcomes all people to our borders. As part of the week of action, SBCC is unveiling a new data micro-site within the Border Lens data portal that highlights how a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented people in the southern border region would be the transformative immigration reform that the southern border region and our communities need. Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER — The Biden administration has renewed the Trump-Era Title 42 policy, which allows border agents to expel migrants and people seeking safety—including their children—from the United States without a hearing before an immigration judge. This order reinforces the racist, dangerous narrative from Gov. Abbott and Trump cronies that asylum seekers are a threat and puts vulnerable asylum seekers at risk. The Biden administration must uphold our nation’s asylum laws that provide people seeking safety at our border access to the asylum process. Border communities and public safety experts (including a recent report by Physicians for Human Rights) have shown that the use of Title 42 to expel migrants under the guise of public safety is not only unjustified, but cruel and inhumane. Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER — This week the Biden administration unveiled a 21-point immigration plan and although the Biden administration had promised a more “fair, orderly, and humane” immigration system, the latest updates to the Biden administration’s plan doesn't just fall short, but perpetuates punitive rhetoric and a dangerous prevention through deterrence approach. Disturbingly, the Biden administration continues the use of inhumane Trump-era policies that erode access to asylum, like Title 42, and plans on expanding expedited removals to families, both of which arbitrarily give border agents the power to expel migrants and people seeking safety—including their children—from the United States without a hearing before an immigration judge, which invites due process violations that are anything but fair, orderly and humane. Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER — Last week when U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was created illegally, thousands of families in the southern border region again felt the uncertainty of living without permanent protections, overlapped with the fear of living in a highly militarized border zone where unaccountable border agents act with impunity. Continue reading