CONTACT:  Yesenia Padilla, SBCC, [email protected] Courtney Bourgoin, Sierra Club, [email protected]  Abdullah Hasan, ACLU, [email protected] SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled that President Trump’s attempt to circumvent Congress and transfer of $2.5 billion in military pay and pension funds for border wall construction is unlawful. The court also forcefully rejected the administration’s argument that no one can go to court to block the president’s blatant abuse of power. The court affirmed the district court’s order blocking the illegal construction. Continue reading

Yuma, AZ— Today, despite a major spike in COVID-19 cases across Arizona, Donald Trump will visit Yuma in an attempt to pivot attention to his border wall project. Yuma has seen coronavirus cases quadruple since the beginning of June, and border wall workers have been getting sick even as residents have urged the administration to stop construction. Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER — Today the supreme court ruled, 5-4, that the manner in which the Trump administration eliminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was unlawful for failing to follow procedural requirements. This decision is a major, but temporary, victory for immigrant youth, who have lived with uncertainty since Donald Trump attempted to rescind DACA in 2017. Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER —  The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported today that Customs and Border Protection, the parent agency of Border Patrol, violated the law when it took emergency humanitarian assistance funds explicitly appropriated by Congress to improve the health and safety of children and adults in their custody -- and instead spent it on dog food, riot helmets, dirt bikes and ATVs. Continue reading

Washington, D.C. – In solidarity with the millions of Black people and allies who have taken to the street to defend Black lives and demand justice for those who have been killed by police, the Defund Hate Coalition issued the following statement:  Continue reading

 In an extraordinary move, foreshadowing its attempt to become a national police force, CBP has sent border agents and predator drones to help repress protesters  SOUTHERN BORDER —  The Administration has deployed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents across the country to clamp down on protesters seeking justice for George Floyd, who was brutally killed by law enforcement in Minneapolis last week. The protesters were calling for an end to racial injustice and law enforcement brutality.  CBP is an unaccountable, highly militarized agency that asserts “extraordinary powers” to stop, detain and interrogate anyone without probable cause far from the border. They have a dangerous and deadly track record of abuse, death and impunity.  CBP agents have been deployed across the country as have CBP predator drones that surveilled  protesters by air over the weekend. Border communities have been warning for years: unaccountable border agents are only a step away from becoming a national police force. It’s what CBP seeks and what is happening before our eyes. Continue reading

Admin. issues record 30th waiver of federal laws meant to protect people, wildlife and the environment SOUTHERN BORDER —  If putting public safety at risk by accelerating the construction of his vanity border wall during a pandemic wasn’t enough, the Trump administration reached a reckless milestone today by issuing the 30th waiver of federal laws to build a wall across the southern border. This waiver applies to communities in Webb and Zapata counties in the Laredo, TX area, where the administration plans to fast track 69 miles of wall. Continue reading

A recording of the call is available here WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier today, experts and activists gathered on a call to discuss pushing the administration to permanently halt the construction of the border wall and shift the funding to save lives during the COVID-19 outbreak. The recent funding for a firm linked to the administration to build 17 miles of the border has put a spotlight on the administration’s xenophobic strategy that will go to extremes to prioritize political survival over the nation’s public health amid a crisis.  Continue reading

SAN DIEGO, CA — With the nation’s largest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, the for-profit Otay Mesa Detention Center has become a national coronavirus hotspot as a record number of employees and detainees continue to fall ill. So far, at least 16 detainees and seven employees have tested positive for the virus.  Continue reading

SAN DIEGO, CA — On Thursday, April 9, the Vista Unified School Board passed a resolution to embrace a New Border Vision, a framework for well-functioning borders for the 21st century. The resolution was sponsored by Vista Unified School Board member Cipriano Vargas, and comes as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has increased checkpoint operations in North County, blocking routes to healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Continue reading