Report-out from Delegation of Civil and Human Rights Leaders Visiting US-Mexico Border

Brownsville, TX – On Friday, May 12, at 1 pm CT/2 pm ET, members of a senior delegation of human rights leaders led by the Haitian Bridge Alliance will brief reporters on their trip to the U.S.-Mexico border during the lifting of Title 42 and replacement with a new Biden administration asylum ban.

To attend in person: La Plaza Terminal, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 755 International Blvd., Brownsville, TX 78520.

To attend virtually: Register here to get the Zoom link.

Led by the Haitian Bridge Alliance, the senior leadership of prominent national human, civil and immigrant rights leaders from 11 organizations traveled to the US-Mexico border to bear witness to the end of Title 42 and the start of new, restrictive border policies that will fuel wrongful deportation of refugees, to great risk of persecution and torture. The Haitian Bridge Alliance leads the delegation in coordination with partners in Matamoros and Reynosa and will meet with other groups providing life-saving humanitarian aid to stranded migrants and people seeking asylum.

A list of delegation members and additional information is provided below.

The delegation is documenting the conditions at shelters and encampments in Reynosa and Matamoros for families and individuals waiting to exercise their right to seek asylum at the U.S. southern border. Delegates are focusing on the continued impacts of Title 42, a policy that expels over 2 million migrants without due process or access to asylum assessments for those who fear return. As Title 42 ends at midnight on the 11th, delegates will also monitor the expanded use of the CBP One application and the implementation of the new “Asylum Ban,” which human rights advocates have warned would return many refugees who are eligible for asylum under U.S. and international law to danger.

Representatives of different human and civil rights movements will participate in the delegation to demonstrate an intersectional approach to tackling racist and harmful border policies. In addition to the misuse of Title 42, the U.S. government has committed a range of human rights violations against people seeking asylum at the border with Mexico, including illegal pushbacks, race-based torture and ill-treatment in immigration detention, and devastating policies such as family separation and detention.

Delegation Members

Guerline Jozef, Haitian Bridge Alliance

Eleanor Acer, Human Rights First

Paul O’Brien, Amnesty International USA

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International

Mary Meg McCarthy, National Immigrant Justice Center

Kica Matos, National Immigration Law Center

Deirdre Schifeling and Maribel Hernandez Rivera, American Civil Liberties Union

Bilal Askaryar, Welcome With Dignity

Patrice Lawrence, UndocuBlack Network

Maricarmen Garcia, Tahirih Justice Center

Seydi Sarr, ABISA

Spokespeople from participating organizations are also available for interviews.

—

CONTACT:

Haitian Bridge Alliance, Paige Censale, [email protected] 360-685-3384

Amnesty International, Duncan Tucker, [email protected] +52 55 4848 8266

#WelcomeWithDignity, Bilal Askaryar, [email protected]; 646-899-9722

National Immigration Law Center, Juan Gastelum, [email protected], 213-375-3149

National Immigrant Justice Center, Tara Tidwell Cullen, [email protected], 312-833-2967

Human Rights First, Shamari White, [email protected], (202) 714-4129

ACLU, Katie Hoeppner, [email protected]