Civil and Human Rights Leaders Visit US-Mexico Border to Assess Migrant Conditions and Advocate for Change

# Haitian Bridge Alliance Leads Delegation to US-Mexico Border to Monitor New Border Policies

**Introduction**

A delegation of senior leadership from 11 organizations, all rights activists, have announced that they will be traveling to the US-Mexico border on May 11 and 12 to observe the end of Title 42 and the commencement of a new set of restrictive border policies that are going to exacerbate wrongful deportations of refugees. Organizations including National Immigrant Justice Center, Amnesty International, and the Haitian Bridge Alliance shall be among the representatives that are going to monitor the situation. The groups will hold a press conference to broadcast their findings from their visit on May 12.

**Observation**

Delegates from the 11 organizations will document the situations in Matamoros and Reynosa for families and individuals waiting for the opportunity to traverse the border and seek asylum in the United States. The delegation pays specific attention to the impacts of Title 42, a policy being used to expel over 2 million migrants without sufficient process, and its withdrawal at midnight on May 11, in addition to monitoring the expanded use of the CBP One application. They will also monitor the proposed Asylum Ban, which rights activists have cautioned may return several refugees at risk of harm and torture and eligible for asylum under U.S. and foreign law to harm.

**Human Rights Exploration**

The observation of the delegation will highlight the continued violation of human and civil rights of individuals seeking asylum or crossing the border between Mexico and the United States. The past few years have witnessed several human rights offenses, including illegal pushbacks, race-based torture and mistreatment in confinement, and ruinous policies such as family separation and imprisonment. The fact that these human rights violations continue hinders migrants’ chances of seeking asylum and forces them to turn to illegal alternatives that put them in greater danger.

**Philosophical Discussion**

Several points must be understood when addressing border restrictions: first, there is the need to tackle systematic racism in border policies to abolish the existing environment of racial profiling. Second, the need to create policies that will treat asylum seekers humanely should be raised continuously. Asylum seekers’, basic human rights should be protected from any form of persecution, institutional or by individuals. Third, urgent and immediate steps need to be taken to safeguard the historically marginalized population of asylum seekers. Finally, border surveillance and other border policies aimed at deliberate human rights violation must be dismantled, realizing that the border should be seen as an intersection of cultures rather than a divide.

**Editorial and Advice**

While there is a need for a safe and secure border, strategic policies should be instituted to counter different types of human rights abuse on people seeking asylum. Organizations should work toward the implementation of policies that give every asylum seeker a fair shot at having his or her claims heard. Pressure must be placed on the government to make humane policies and improve the living conditions of people at the border. It is hoped that the trip to the border by human rights advocates will catalyze substantial change that will dramatically improve the lives of refugees and strengthen the global fight for their rights.

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