Dear John,
Today, May 28th, is a day of infamy. It is the day that the U.S. Border Patrol began to operate 100 years ago, and it represents a century of border communities fighting for our dignity in the face of incessant racism, abuse, and impunity by border agents (watch video).
For me, this day is even more profound because it is the day in 2010 that Anastasio Hernández Rojas, a longtime San Diego resident was brutally beaten, repeatedly tased and then suffocated by border agents until he stopped breathing. He was face down, hogtied, calling for help and screaming, “I am not an animal,” all while surrounded by dozens of agents (watch video). I remember getting a call from a terrified eyewitness who said she had “just witnessed a murder.” Soon after, I met Anastasio’s widow, Maria Puga (pictured with me above), who has become a fierce human rights advocate. I have had the honor to accompany her on that journey.
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When the U.S. government declined to bring charges against border agents in Anastasio’s case, as they have in nearly every excessive force case in the last 100 years, Maria did not take no for an answer. Alliance San Diego partnered with the Berkeley International Human Rights Law Clinic to represent her in seeking justice before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the first-ever case challenging the systemic abuse and impunity of U.S. border agents (watch video). While we await a decision in this landmark case, Alliance San Diego continues the fight alongside Maria and many more community members.
From organizing affected families to building power in coalition, Alliance San Diego is giving it our all to protect human rights. We’re raising our voices, developing leaders, and advocating for change — transformative change that centers human dignity.
I’ll be honest. May 28th is a heavy day, even more so this year as the anniversary of Anastasio’s death coincides with the 100th anniversary of Border Patrol and all the pain that comes with it. But I’m buoyed by the belief that we can turn pain into purpose. In the past several days, I have accompanied Maria in elevating the call internationally for the U.S. government to hold border agents accountable and treat everyone with dignity and respect. This morning, I joined colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden calling for specific changes.
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Alliance San Diego is also providing the community with tools to combat human rights violations and specifically violence inflicted by law enforcement. To that end, we provide ‘Start With Dignity’ workshops, holding a space for community members to share stories, lean on one another, and heal through learning and dialogue about human rights (watch video). This is one of the ways we build a movement to claim our collective dignity.
We invite you to join us in claiming dignity by making a donation today. Your support will help us fight for justice, train the community and forge a future where all of us can thrive.
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Andrea Guerrero, Esq. Executive Director |
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Alliance San Diego
P.O. Box 12266
San Diego, CA 92112
United States |
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