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By: Erin Sheridan January 13, 2020February 16, 2020
Articles, U.S./Mexico Border

Photos: Witness at the Border, January Rally

On Sunday, activists from over 30 states joined the Texas branches of the ACLU and the Children’s Defense Fund to demand an end to the U.S. Department of Justice’s tent court system, as well as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP, ‘Remain in Mexico’ program).

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Articles, U.S./Mexico Border

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Interview with Charlene D’Cruz of Lawyers for Good Government
Hispanic Caucus Tours Migrant Camp

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Asylum Seekers awaiting hearings under the Trump a Asylum Seekers awaiting hearings under the Trump administration’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ program (Migrant Protection Protocols, MPP) in a camp along the Rio Grande in Matamoros, Tamaulipas are dealing with flooding again with the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) predicting more thunderstorms through the end of the week. Videos posted by Team Brownsville on Facebook, taken by asylum seekers in touch with volunteers, showed an overnight thunderstorm flooding dirt pathways and tents. Even those dwellings lifted off the dirt by wooden palettes, purchased in bulk by aid workers in Matamoros, appeared partially submerged in water. Organizers with Team Brownsville, Resource Center Matamoros, Angry Tias and Abuelas of the Rio Grande Valley, Global Response Management, and more are collaborating to respond to needs as they arise. Link in bio.
“Messages sent to an advocate on May 26, one day “Messages sent to an advocate on May 26, one day prior to ICE’s confirmation of the second case inside PIDC, suggested that staff transported the infected detainee to a hospital. The detainee’s claim has not been confirmed by ICE and the advocate noted it was unclear whether the detainee who sent the message meant the facility’s infirmary or a civilian hospital. Detainees said in separate messages that dormitory pod ‘B-4’ had 20 detainees quarantined inside.” Link in bio.
A Saturday morning downpour sent the camp of asylu A Saturday morning downpour sent the camp of asylum seekers along a levee in Matamoros, Tamaulipas into disarray. Heavy winds brought down trees and destroyed tent dwellings secured to trees with ropes. Rain soaked belongings and documents. Clay pathways along the river stretching two recreational soccer fields turned to thick, slippery mud and pools of water collected on uneven ground, overwhelming trenches dug by residents to channel rainwater into the Rio Grande. Link in bio.
“Over the course of his practice, Diez has found “Over the course of his practice, Diez has found that DOJ counsel sent to litigate passport revocation cases tend to be unfamiliar with the history and cultural norms in in communities along the U.S./Mexico border, where trans-border lives and families are common. Many residents cross the border for work, shopping, and to access affordable healthcare and prescription drugs on a regular basis. Passports are essential to local lives, livelihoods, and economies. According to the attorney, security at border crossings was intensified post 9/11 and crossing for nonessential reasons became less common later in the 2000s, when violence spilling onto the streets of northern Tamaulipas began to deter residents from making unnecessary trips. ‘We used to go to Matamoros all the time. We used to have baptisms, we used to go hunting, we came at night and sometimes we didn’t even have documents,’ he said.” Link in bio.
A report published by organizers with Witness at t A report published by organizers with Witness at the Border details the number of ICE Air flights that left the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport during the first several months of the year in an effort to document who was being deported and to where – both before and after the spread of COVID-19. Link in bio. Photo by @denisecatheyphoto
“A lawsuit filed on behalf of a Cameroonian asyl “A lawsuit filed on behalf of a Cameroonian asylum seeker detained in Los Fresnos, Texas alleges the man was not provided access to a translator in a language he understood during a credible fear interview and a subsequent review hearing before an immigration judge. M.P.C., who arrived at a port of entry late last year, learned from a fellow detainee who reviewed his case notes that communications with both the asylum officer who conducted his credible fear interview and an immigration judge had been incorrectly translated. ‘He was aghast that the notes indicate he did not know his date of birth, and even more so at the indication in the notes that he did not know the names of his children (names, which incidentally, appear on the Credible Fear Worksheet),’ his attorney wrote.” Link in bio.
Matamoros-based medical NGO Global Response Manage Matamoros-based medical NGO Global Response Management will complete construction on a field hospital in a camp of asylum seekers near the Gateway International Bridge after the organization obtained clearance to cross $400,000 of medical equipment stuck in a trailer in Brownsville, Texas for six weeks. Link in bio.
A diabetic asylum seeker in immigration detention A diabetic asylum seeker in immigration detention in Los Fresnos, Texas has filed a petition asking ICE to release him light of the COVID-19 pandemic and his heightened risk of succumbing to the virus if he becomes infected. The suit alleges inadequate treatment for the man’s worsening diabetes over the course of his 16-month detention at the Port Isabel Detention Center. Allegations in the document detail concerns raised by local advocates and attorneys over an alleged lack of access to personal protective equipment and hand soap inside the facility, as well as an inability to socially distance in crowded dormitories. Link in bio.
A federal judge in Brownsville, Texas ordered Immi A federal judge in Brownsville, Texas ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to facilitate a bond hearing for an asylum seeker the agency has detained at the Port Isabel Detention Center in Los Fresnos for nearly three years. The decision came only after four appeals challenging the man’s order of removal, a separate habeas petition filed by his attorney late last year, and an application for a temporary restraining order seeking the man’s release due to risks posed by COVID-19. Link in bio.
Doctors at Global Response Management in Matamoros Doctors at Global Response Management in Matamoros have isolated 17 fever-negative patients since preparations to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 began six weeks ago, said Andrea Leiner, the organization’s Director of Strategic Plans in a phone call on Thursday. Three of those patients qualified for testing with the health department in Matamoros. All three tests came back negative. “We encouraged their friends and neighbors to help so they weren’t walking around camp,” said Leiner. Link in bio.
“One detainee allegedly organizing the strike to “One detainee allegedly organizing the strike told volunteers in a phone call that inmates living in the crowded dormitories have not been provided with cleaning supplies, masks, or gloves. ICE said no detainees had threatened to hunger strike.” Link in bio.
“Over the weekend, Zavala spoke with a woman who “Over the weekend, Zavala spoke with a woman whose son had a broken arm. They were staying at Alberca Chavez, a shelter operated by the UN’s International Organization for Migration in Matamoros. ‘I asked her if there had been anyone with MPP leaving on the buses. She said yes,’ Zavala said. ‘She told me they’re making conditions really uncomfortable at the shelters. They’re pressuring them daily to sign up to get on the buses. She said once you sign up and you’ve changed your mind, you still have to go. She estimated 50 people have left from the shelter on those buses.’” Link in bio.
Sam Bishop, Project Coordinator with Global Respon Sam Bishop, Project Coordinator with Global Response Management in Matamoros, explained that space is limited and so doctors won’t be able to isolate patients completely. The team is working to build a 20-bed field hospital by the end of the month. Bishop said staff expects hospitals in Matamoros to be filled to capacity, while doctors and attorneys will no longer be able to cross asylum seekers seeking emergency care into the United States. GRM’s Executive Director Helen Perry said on Thursday that staff met with local public health officials and learned the city of nearly 500,000 residents has access to only 10 ventilators and 40 ICU beds. “We’re prepared for the reality that it’s going to hit the camp really, really hard and really, really quickly. We’re going to work with the Mexican healthcare system. But because we can’t fully rely on them, we’re building as much extra capacity as we can,” Bishop said. Link in bio.
“As The Border Closes, Rio Grande Valley-Based A “As The Border Closes, Rio Grande Valley-Based Aid Workers Prepare For A Crisis”: The coordinator of Lawyers For Good Government’s Matamoros-based Project Corazon, Charlene D’Cruz, said she suspects asylum seekers won’t be able to apply for asylum at the bridge, as clients were already being denied the opportunity to properly do so by Mexican migration. CBP officers have been stationed at the international line since June 2018, barring anyone without documents from entering ports to claim asylum. Asylum seekers who wish to begin the process must rely on officials with Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM), who coordinate with U.S. immigration officials across the bridge. “I know that people were trying to get on the list and Mexican immigration wasn’t helping them. I know for a fact that a Nicaraguan woman tried to get on the list – she didn’t even go up on the bridge. She tried to do it the right way. She was told, ‘Go marry a Mexican man.’” Link in bio.
A 60-year-old woman seeking asylum had an asthma a A 60-year-old woman seeking asylum had an asthma attack at the international line on the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas on Thursday. Photographs posted by the woman’s attorney on Facebook showed her collapsed on the ground as officers on the U.S. side filmed the incident on a cell phone. During Thursday’s asthma attack, officers allegedly declined to assist while the woman laid on the ground several feet in front of them, as she was in Mexico. “The doctors from the camp came and took her back. CBP did not let her enter,” her attorney said in a phone call.
Deportees Flown Out Of Brownsville, Texas Airport. Deportees Flown Out Of Brownsville, Texas Airport. Feb. 14, 2020. Photos by @denisecatheyphoto for @brownsvilleherald.
CBP Returns Four Disabled Children To Mexico Despi CBP Returns Four Disabled Children To Mexico Despite MPP's 'Vulnerability Exception'
Attorney Charlene D’Cruz in her office at the Re Attorney Charlene D’Cruz in her office at the Resource Center in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico on Feb. 3, 2020. She spent the morning trying to parole a blind asylum seeker from Cuba who was returned to Mexico by Customs and Border Protection in violation of a ‘vulnerability exception’ for asylum seekers with known mental and physical health issues included in the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP, ‘Remain in Mexico’ program). Yodalys, 52, has toxoplasmosis and epilepsy. She was paroled into the U.S. later that evening after five attempts.
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