Friday, August 4, 2023

(Sergio Borbolla/WOLA)

Dear John,

After years of documenting abuses by law enforcement agents at the U.S-Mexico border, this week WOLA is proud to launch an in-depth report that I co-wrote with Zoe Martens from the Kino Border Initiative, a long-standing WOLA partner based in Nogales, Arizona.

The launch webinar for Abuses at the U.S.- Mexico Border: How To Address Failures and Protect Rights was attended by over 100 people and can be watched here.

Also, the report attracted quite a bit of media attention, with dozens of articles published in English, Spanish and French, from Canada to Paraguay. We even got as far as Pakistan.

The report documents a shocking pattern of human rights violations against migrants that regularly go unpunished. These include the misuse of lethal force, intimidation, sexual harassment, and falsifying documents.

In these very polarized times, we offer over 40 recommendations in the belief that the United States can have a well-governed border where migrants and asylum seekers are also treated humanely.

We hope you will take the time to read it and forward it to others who may be interested. Please note there are condensed versions in English and Spanish.

WOLA is confident that with your support change is possible.

All this and more in this week's WOLA Weekly.

Best,

Adam Isacson

Director for Defense Oversight

Abuses at the U.S.- Mexico Border:
How To Address Failures and Protect Rights

🇲🇽 🇺🇸 This week, WOLA and our partner organization, KINO Border Initiative, published an extensive report on persistent human rights violations occurring at the U.S.-Mexico border with little to no accountability for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. The report mentions hundreds of cases and shares over 40 recommendations for more effective complaints, investigations, discipline, oversight, and cultural change.

READ THE REPORT

PRESS HITS

📰 "US border agents habitually abuse human rights, report reveals",The Guardian
📰 "Report paints picture of rampant human rights abuses from US border agents",The Hill
📰 "Report spills beans on alarming human rights abuses at US border", The News
📰 "'Violencia sistemática,' 'crueldad' y 'discriminación': informe denuncia abusos contra migrantes en la frontera", Univision
📰 "95% de las quejas contra agentes fronterizos no se investiga ni recibe sanción de las autoridades de EU", Animal Politico
📰 "ONG denuncian preocupantes abusos de la patrulla fronteriza",
La Jornada

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

🇻🇪 Alongside over 130 organizations, WOLA spoke out against the arbitrary detention of 33 gay and bisexual men in Venezuela. Read the joint-statement here. (In Spanish)
🇸🇻 Recent reforms to the Law Against Organized Crime in El Salvador have caused great alarm for human rights organizations. Read our commentary highlighting how mass trials in El Salvador are the reflection of an unsustainable State of Emergency.
🇵🇪 WOLA's Senior Fellow, Jo-Marie Burt, pens an op-ed on the importance of the recent letter from Congress denouncing human rights abuses in Peru and urging the Biden administration to take action. (in Spanish)
✍ICYMI: Coletta Youngers, WOLA's Senior Fellow published an article highlighting the need for more humane alternatives to imprisonment for women in the Americas.

🇨🇴 This week, Gimena Sánchez, WOLA's Director for the Andes, was in Colombia to attend the ceremony to mark the ceasefire between the ELN and the Colombian government. The ceasefire will initially last 180 days, marking the most concrete progress so far in the ongoing peace talks. A Participation Committee was established during the ceremony which included the ELN, the Colombian government, and 30 organizations that will provide a voice for civil society at the negotiation table.

WEEKLY BORDER UPDATE

In April 2022, WOLA launched its one-of-a-kind Border Oversight Database, which documents hundreds of reports of human rights violations and abuses against migrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border.