San Diego, CA - Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, John Kelly, wrapped up a weeklong tour of the southern border with yet another photo op with border officials -- but they may have very well been on another planet as their rhetoric of war and lawlessness don’t match up with the realities of our communities.
With stops in El Paso, TX and San Diego, CA, Sessions and Kelly again insulted border communities by mischaracterizing what’s really going on to justify the Trump administration’s proposed border wall and increased enforcement. Again, they refused to meet with the people most affected by their misguided and unjustified policies.
Christian Ramirez, Human Rights Director of Alliance San Diego and Director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, stated the following:
Let us be clear on who the aggressors really are. Let us be clear on who is pushing the rhetoric of war in a time of peace, in a place of peace. It is the Trump Administration. The days of hyperbolic rhetoric repeated from the campaign trail must come to an end. Now is the time for the administration undertake the difficult but important task of governing for all. Attorney General Sessions and Secretary Kelly are welcome here so long as they come in peace. We invite both of them to talk to community leaders, business people, entrepreneurs so they can better understand what’s real and what is fantasy.”
About Southern Border Communities Coalition
The Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) brings together organizations from San Diego, California, to Brownsville, Texas, to ensure that border enforcement policies and practices are accountable and fair, respect human dignity and human rights, and prevent the loss of life in the region.
###